#camp camp gwen x reader

[starlightcaffeinatedqueen]

♡Scar-Loving♡

Sub!Luke Castellan x Dom!Hephaestus!Reader

MINORS DNI!

Warnings!: Both of you are Seventeen to Eighteen, Frenemies with Benefits?, Lots Of Kissing, A shirtless luke for five seconds, Swearing, insults, Pet Names, Flirting, Sarcasm, Play Fighting, Suggestive, She/Her Pronouns are used, (I'll do they/Them, It/It's or he/him in the next one, I promise!=))

You were walking to Cabin 9 When Luke grabbed your arm pulled you away towards the back of Cabin 9, "Luke." You said with a straight face, "Y/n." Luke said with a smirk. You rolled your eyes "Remember what happend the last time.you tried to this?"You said while touch the left side of his neck, Luke shivered at your touch. "Shut up, Of course I remember...."He mumbled.

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

Four days ago

It was the day before Capture The Flag, You were walking around the camp while talking to Clarrise when Luke walked over to you and pulled you away to the back of his cabin, "What the fuck, Luke?" You asked, annoyed, "Hey, I'm talking to yo-" Before you could finish talking He crashed his lips onto yours, You smirked against his lips, and kissed him back, He moved his hands to your waist, You pulled away for a few seconds before kissing his neck, He groaned at the feeling while also leaning back against the back of the cabin. You chuckled against his skin, You moved your hands up to play with his hair, You started sucking on his neck as you played with his hair, He put his hands on your hips, gently trying to push you away while muffling "Okay, okay, I get it, Too much..", You slowly moved your lips from his neck, revealing a hickey but then ignited your finger and gently touched the mark, He grabbed your hand and pushed your hand away.

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

Present

"I had to miss out of Capture The Flag Because Chiron could see the mark, and Mr. D Could tell it was Hickey but he didn't know from who."Luke said while scowling, "Exactly" You said, "So, do you want to try that again?"You asked, Luke looked at you and smirked, "Yes." He said as he grabbed your chin and pressed his lips to yours, He pushed you against the back wall of Cabin 9, You ignited your finger and pressed it against his neck, He Moaned and groaned slightly at the feeling, You chuckled. "That's it..!" He picked you up and wrapped your legs around hks waist, "Hey! What the-" Before you could finish he moved your hair and he began kissing your neck, "Castellan, I Swear to Hermes, I wil-" He cut you off by biting your neck, "Great mother of Zeus...!" You muffled. Luke gently placed his right hand under your ass to hold you up, He placed his other hand behind your neck. You pulled your neck away from him and put your lips to His neck and starting kissing and biting it, Luke groaned, "Y/n.." He said, "Yes, Pretty boy?" You said as you kissed his neck, "Curfew, Late.." He groaned, You groaned in annoyance, "Fine.." You unwrapped your legs from his waist, He gently fixed your hair. You went back to your cabins, but he sent you letters with Pictures in them, mostly of him shirtless or him lying in bed.

A/n: See ya, Daisy's, Sunflower's, And Petal's!

[helpfandom]

Could i request some platonic yandere david headcanons with a camper reader? Ty!

@yanderefangirl

Gee Whillikers, He sure does love ya'!

With him, he must have a nice darling, [you] may be nice out of pity or out of the kindness of your heart, but he thinks it's the latter. Hopefully.

Be careful not to break this man's heart! He can't take too much!

Anyway, out of that realm now.

David is someone who could not bring himself to kill. David would rather die than hurt one of the campers, but it doesn't stop him from treating them rudely. [And by rudely, we mean that he wouldn't do as many activities the camper liked, such as he wouldn't make it mandatory for the campers like Max to show up at Preston's play, or something of the like.]

Gwen may notice this weird obsession with you, and how he babies you, but her worries are dispelled by the knowledge that David wouldn't do that. Right?

David [and any others observant enough] finds himself often giving you special treatment; going with what you suggest instead of what was planned, walking or otherwise sticking by you during activities, refusal to swap the channel [episode 8, season 4, After hours, for those wondering] from what you chose. And Max, being the little shit that he is, is quick to pick up on this and capitalize on it.

David and Max quickly find that it's an impasse between the two. David refuses to let you get roped in with the trio, and Max is adamant to use his obsession with you to get what he wants.

So, suddenly Max had to take a trip to the wood scouts.

It is unlike David to kidnap, however, he wouldn't mind if you got stuck, or lost, and missed the bus to go home and all of a sudden you have to stick with him until the bus arrives, but the bus won't arrive.

He's emotionally dependent on you, relying on your kindness to keep him afloat in this emotional world of his. Depending on the time, he may fall farthest into his obsession than ever, or he may be the lightest.

He wouldn't be afraid of becoming more confident in the terms of you, though. David would fight back if the Wood Scouts wanted to grab ahold of you, or even letting them just so that he could save you and have an excuse to hold you in the cabin instead of out with the other campers...

Although, he does realize that this is selfish of him, so it's a loop on whether or not he acts on that impulse of letting it happen, or if his sense of justice outweighs his sense of parental concern. If at the time where he knows that Jasper is dead, then he would act on it, letting it happen only to burst into the Wood Scouts and demand that you come back, his need to protect overpowering his urge of peace.

No matter what, you just have to get on the bus to go home. He would never follow you home! What's David doing at your school? Well, silly, he needs a job after the summer! Too bad he's your teacher.

[vikkirosko]

📖 Gwen x male!Reader Oneshot Blind Date 💊

Gwen sat in a cafe and thought about how desperate she was to agree to a blind date. She hoped that the one she was waiting for would be normal. During all the time that she worked at the summer camp, she saw a lot of strange people with whom she would not want to communicate. Because of the excitement, Gwen came earlier and now she could only wait.

"Maybe I still have time to leave?..

"Gwen?"

She raised her head, looking at you. You knew her through your work. You were a counselor from Wood Scouts and usually you looked like a soldier, but now you were wearing the most ordinary clothes and if she saw you just somewhere on the street, she wouldn't think that you were a counselor in a camp with a military bias.

" (Y/N)? What are you doing here?"

"I can ask you the same question"

You gave her a friendly smile. You were usually serious and focused on your work. You and David and Gwen were about the same age, so her partner often tried to establish friendly contact with you, but you were always focused on work. She didn't expect to meet you here. Gwen was sure you were working all the time.

"I asked first!"

You laughed softly, smiling gently at her.

"Okay, whatever you say."

You sat on the chair opposite.

"I came on a blind date, and you?"

She blushed, beginning to understand the situation you both found yourself in.

"Me too..."

You pulled your phone out of your pocket and showed her the correspondence. It was a correspondence with her that caused an even stronger blush.

"As I understand it, we came on a date with each other"

Gwen sighed heavily and nodded.

"I never would have thought that I would end up on a date with you"

"Don't I look like someone who goes on dates?"

You kept smiling at her.

"Honestly? No, I thought you were fixated on camp or something."

You couldn't help laughing.

"No, I would go crazy if I spent the whole day in the camp"

It's the first time Gwen has seen you so relaxed and cheerful. Looking at you like that, she thought that nothing bad would happen if you went on one date. Neither you nor she will lose anything from this, and perhaps even be able to gain something.

[angelshellohi]

Okay so I'm working on 2 fics rn

One for Gwen ( camp camp )

And one for Stanley uris ( IT )

Just wanted to let y'all know :3

[valentiyne]

𝖻𝗅𝗂𝗇𝖽𝗌𝗂𝖽𝖾𝖽 ✘ 𝗍𝖺𝗌𝗆!𝗉𝖾𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗉𝖺𝗋𝗄𝖾𝗋

TASM!Peter Parker x Fem!Reader

Summary: Uncovering the truth about your little affair with Spiderman to your obvious friend Peter. What could go wrong? (Let me know if I should do a part two!)

Warnings: Mild cursing & Peter being a dork

Word Count: 1.5k (not proofread)

Copyright © 2024 Valentiyne. All rights reserved. This original work is not allowed to be reposted on any platform in any format.

Peter Parker stuck to himself for a majority of his time at Empire State High. I met him in middle school but we didn't meet up until eighth grade, and when I was stuck next to him in Chemistry- I knew we'd be inseparable. He was a nerd, a 4.8 GPA and enrolled in almost every club the counselors would allow.

He was a nerd, but he was also my best friend. My best friend that I hadn't talked to in two years.

The hundredth refilled coffee of the night almost dropped me to my knees. I was beyond exhausted, and it didn't help that my phone was almost dead. It was my fourth double this week, and I knew no amount of Redbulls would keep me going. There were a few stray customers sitting around the counter, reading the daily bugle or staring up at the old television playing a recap of the morning news.

Ben, a man who I've come to learn as a night shift security guard always came in before close. His hair was black with a few stray greys, mid forties with no wife or kids. He ordered a cherry pie with a black coffee and sat in silence until it was time to close.

He left a hefty tip- so I didn't mind.

"How you doing, Cherry." His nickname rolled off his tongue as he reaches down to grab his sweater from the stool. He knew everything about Peter and I, he had been here to see it all.

I shrug, dropping my dirty rag in the sink with a sigh. "I'll be okay."

"You said that two years ago when I first asked you." He teased, earning a small smile from me.

"That's what I like to see," He drops a twenty on the counter and gives a soft wave, letting the bells from the front door do the talking as he left to work.

As I lock the front door, I drop my skateboard to the floor and kick my feet up to head home. The skateboard was a limited edition OSCORP branded drop. Peter had camped out for two days to get it for me before the beginning of sophomore year, and i've treasured it every since. The train left 7 minutes ago, and I knew it would be a good forty minutes before I was home.

My headphones flowed with my hair as I pushed myself faster down the sidewalk. Queen was almost dead this time of night, aside from a few people who roamed the streets- and of course the vigilante the daily bugle has named Spider Man.

I've learned of his existence from a newspaper Ben was reading, his red and blue suit depicting on the front cover. It was something out a movie- a man who flies through the air with webs?

Peter thought it was fascinating, of course he did. He was a boy who thought everything was fascinating- except for me.

It wasn't that big of a deal, he liked Gwen. She was everything I wasn't. She had an internship at Oscorp, she was involved in the community, she was smart- if not smarter than Peter. Thank you Linkedln!

He was head over heels for her. And I was head over heels for him.

As my skateboard glided over the concrete, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket a few times. Slipping it out, I glance down to my screen to see a couple of messages from my roommate.

Just as I went to open the messages, my skateboard halted and I was launched from the board- sideways ankle and chin first into the rough pavement. "Fuck!" I cry out, my shaky hands immediately reaching for my chin. Crimson blood littered my fingers and I groaned obnoxiously, leaning down to my now shattered phone to check and see if it was still salvageable.

It was not.

Groaning in pain, I managed to extend my ankle out and look at it. It was probably a sprain, nothing that wasn't too life threatening but I knew I wasn't going to be able to skate any further.

Speaking of skating... Where the hell is my board?

I glance around the dark sidewalk, squinting to correct my vision but it was no use. My board was gone. I leaned down in pain, clutching my ankle and letting the blood drip onto the pavement below me.

I was screwed.

Peter kept his promise he had made to her years ago. He made sure she got home safe every night she worked. He watched her step out of the diner with his heart in his throat as he dangled off the side of a building. He had overheard all the conversations she had at work, not in a creepy way- he just wanted to know if she talked about him to some of her regulars.

His side hurt from a beating he took a few hours ago, a fight he had to cut short because he didn't want to miss "watching" her go home. He could have easily taken the guy out, but his mind was so lost on what went wrong between him and her. He wanted to just sleep. But the city never slept, and neither did he.

He left Gwen's apartment early this morning, almost couldn't stand the feeling of not watching and keeping tabs on the girl. His girl. It took him almost an hour to put the suit on, feeling like he wasn't strong enough mentally anymore. He wanted to walk her home as Peter, not Spiderman.

He told himself: stay away from her. Keep her safe that way.

But watching her collide with the pavement, her face hitting the hard cement and the board he had bought her going flying- he knew he had to step in.

I wiped the last of my blood from my chin with the back of my hand when a voice suddenly spoke right behind me.

"Ahem, You-Uh... You okay Miss?"

I yelped, turning around to see no one was there. My eyes traveling down the dark street and sidewalks.

Am I going crazy?

I look back down to my hands that were now stained red when the voice spoke again,

"I'm up here.." My head slowly angled upward and I see it- well I see him.

Standing ontop of a street light infront of me, I see none other than Spider Man.

"Yeah-" I cut my sentance off, my mind suddenly wandering to the fact that I was speaking to the infamous vigilante.

His head turns, his eyes on his mask narrowing at me. His mannerisms were odd, almost...familiar?

I look around, avoiding his gaze. "I fell off my skateboard... i need to get up," I hoist myself onto my right foot.

"Whoa whoa whoa", The man suddenly jumps down from his crouch position above and puts his hands on my shoulders. As his masked hands touch my shoulder, he flinches slightly. "The board isn't important, you're hurt."

My head shakes quickly, almost scrambling to get back on my feet. "No No no, you don't understand. That board, someone... he gave it to me."

The man steps back now, his eyes widening as he looks down at me. He looks... confused?

"Who did?"

I mentally slap myself in the face. He wasn't a therapist, he was a hero. I take a deep breath, "An old friend...." The breath that I let out was shaky, almost like I was about to cry.

The man now puts his hands up in defense, letting me get up onto my feet with a wince. I stumbled a bit from the unevenness, but I eventually got myself steady.

"I sprained my ankle," I say, gritting my teeth.

He immediately kneels down beside me and I limped as he starts to examine my ankle. He moves it gently, taking care not to cause any more pain. "It's not too bad," he says, "But it could use some ice."

I gave up hope looking for the board, and I let out a frustrated groan. I was annoyed. It was the last thing I had of Peter's, and now it was gone too.

"Shouldn't you be stopping a heist?" I suddenly snap, turning around to see the man standing behind me awkwardly.

He looks down at me and leans his hand back to scratch his neck sheepishly. "I saw what happened so.. I uh.. I wanted to help."

I look up at him now, feeling comforted by his presence. His posture, his voice, and everything else about him. He was familiar, but I couldn't place a finger on it.

I can't help but wonder how many other people he's helped like this. It's hard to believe that someone so extraordinary could exist in real life.

Now I just needed to figure out how I was going to get home.

[catoslvt]

Duncan Tarun (tdi) x Reader

You replace courtney in this sorry ☹️

Challenges are weekly, so I don't need to watch the show 24/7, to figure out who's out first, etc, soz zxx

I stand at the edge of the boat, my heart racing.

I'm only here for one reason, to win, and maybe to make some friends, but mainly to win.

As it begins to pull up to the island, I notice a big crowd of people there already, probably more than half of the contestants, if not all of them, I'm not close enough to see yet.

As the boat stops at the dock, I grab my bags and climb out, where Chris greets me.

"This is y/n!" He exclaims as he motions to all of the other contestants, and a few of them wave whilst some roll their eyes, but I approach the group anyway with a smile, before fitting myself in a gap next to a really pretty girl with green / midnight blue hair and a short boy.

"Nice hair." I tell her, and she smiles widely at me, before an extremely attractive boy arrives on the dock, and I notice almost everyone swooning for him, but my attention is grabbed when a ginger girl begins to arrive, screaming her head off, she must've been excited because she jumps out of the boat before its even docked, whacking her head and chin full force off of the dock, which causes me to let out a small laugh.

Once Chris has helped the girl, he clears his throat.

"First things first, we need a group photo for the promos, everyone to the end of the dock." He announces as I walk with the girl and the short boy.

"I'm gwen." She tells me with a smile.

"I'm y/n." I introduce, and the short boy next to me smiles at me.

"I'm Cody." He says, and I just nod at him before I stand at the edge of the dock, staring down at the water.

As we all pose, gwen and I wrapping our arms around each other, Chris holds up his camera.

"Okay.. three..two..one." He begins, but he quickly lets out a large 'oops!'

"Okay, forgot the lens cap. Okay, hold that pose.." He yells again.

"One.. tw- no wait, cards full. Hang on." He says and I let out a small groan.

"Jesus, do you want me to do it for you?" I call to him earning a small laugh from the group, but Chris just shakes his head, but I did earn a small smile from him.

"Come on man, my face is starting to freeze." A girl I haven't been introduced to yet groans.

"Got it! Okay, everyone, say Wawanakwa!" He yells to us, and we all begin to say it, but the dock breaks beneath us, sending us all plummeting into the water.

"Okay, guys, dry off and meet at the camp fire pit in ten." Chris announces, and as Gwen and I climb out of the water, I stare at her.

"He totally planned that, right?" I ask, and she lets out a small laugh as she nods her head at me.

As we all sit around the fire pit, Chris begins to talk.

"This is Camp Wawanaka, your home for the next eight weeks. The campers sitting around you will be your cabin mates,your competition and maybe even your friends." He says as we all look around each other, smiling at each other whilst a fairly attractive boy up the back just glares at each other, earning a slight eye roll from me.

"The camper who manages to stay on Total Drama Island the longest without getting voted off will win $100,000!" Chris exclaims before the same boy from earlier storms to the front, a slight grin on his face.

"Excuse me, what will the sleeping arrangements be? Because I'd like to request a bunk under her." He coos as he points a finger at Heather, I think that's her name anyway Gwen told me it is.

"They're not Co-ed, are they?" She asks, and Chris stares at all of us.

"No, girls, get one side of each cabin. Boys get the other side." He explains and Linday puts up her hand.

"Excuse me, Kyle, can I have a cabin with a lake view since I'm the prettiest?" She asks, her voice deafingly squeaky.

"Okay, you are, but that's not really how it works here. And it's Chris." He states, and Gwen looks at me with a shocked look on her face.

"That sounded really creepy." She mouths and I nod in agreement.

Suddenly, the two girls Sadie and Kadie who would look like fraternal twins from afar begin to cry in case they're not in the same cabin and Gwen scoffs.

"This cannot be happening." She mumbles, and Owen pulls her and Tyler into a hug by the neck earning an eruption of laughter from me.

"Here's the deal, we're going to split you into two teams. If I call your name out, go stand over there." Chris instructs as he points a finger to the back corner of the fire pit.

"Gwen, trent, Heather, Cody, Lindsay, Beth, kadie, Owen, leshawna, Justin, and noah! From this moment on, you are officially known as the screaming gophers!" He exclaims, and I stare at gwen as she walks away, feeling slightly lonely at the fact the only person I've spoken to so far is in the opposite team.

"The rest of you over here, Geoff, Bridgette, dj, Tyler, Sadie, izzy, y/n, Ezekiel, Duncan, Eva, and Harold, move move move!" He exclaims, and I stand up and force myself to walk over to the other side of the fire pit.

"But Kadies a gopher! I have to be a gopher!" Sadie screams, and i walk over to her and place my hand on her shoulder.

"Sadie, is it? Come on, it'll be okay." I say as I lead her over to our team, trying to drown out her and Kadies screaming on how this isn't fair.

I let out a large laugh when I heard our team name.

"Oh, come on? The killer bass? Who came up with that." I mutter under my breath, and Bridgette laughs before Chris begins speaking again.

"Alright, campers, you and your team will be on camera in all public areas during this competition. You will also be able to share your innermost thoughts on tape with video diaries anytime you want. Let the audience at home know what you're really thinking, or just get something off your chest." He says with a smile, and I nod my head, I'll probably be in there a lot.

"Alright, any questions? Cool. Let's find your cabins." He says, not really giving us time to ask any questions though.

As he leads us to the cabins, I audibly gasp at how small they are.

"Gophers, you're in the east cabin, bass. You're in the west!" He exclaims before ushering us into the cabins, where I slap my hand over my mouth when I see its bunk beds.

"Y/n, do you want to share one with me?" Bridgette asks and I nod at her.

"You can take the top if you want, I don't mind." She offers as I set my bags down on the floor at the bed she's standing at.

"Thanks." I say with a small smile.

As Bridgette and I walk outside, the same dude that was glaring at everyone at the campfire approaches us, his names Duncan I'm pretty sure.

"Nice piercings." I say, raising my eyebrows at him, and he smiles slightly and goes to say something until blood curdling screams come from the other teams cabins, and we all run over.

"Man, that white girl can scream." Leshawna says and we all let out small chuckles before we look in the cabin to see Lindsay ontop of a chair pointing at something crawling around the floor.

"What is it!? Kill it!" She screams, and Dj looks at the floor and lets out an even higher pitched scream as he throws himself at a bed, breaking it instantly.

"That was my bed." Gwen states as she stares at her now broken bed, and I let out a laugh from beside her.

"Just come sneak into our cabin." I say with a joking nudge to her side and she smiles.

As everyone tries to kill the cochroach, making us all scream, Duncan just storms in with an axe and slams it into the floor, cutting the cockroach in half, atleast it did the job I suppose.

"Well, that's one way to kill a cockroach." Gwen says with a small chuckle, and I nod in agreement.

"Hey, now you've got a dead cockroack and a dent on your floor." I say to her, and she just laughs.

As I stand behind gwen in the line for food, Duncan stands behind me, and I can turn to him.

"Not got your axe now, hm?" I ask with a laugh, and he just rolls his eyes before I turn away again.

"Listen up, I serve it three times a day, and you will eat it three times a day. Grab a tray. Get your food and sit your butts down now!" The chef yells, and I raise my eyebrows slightly, taken back by his attitude and sterness.

As he piles food onto our plates, I stare at the food, unsure if it's actually even food, as I walk over and take a seat next to Bridgette, and Duncan raises his eyebrows as he walks over and sits down directly infront of me.

"Yo, my man. Can we order a pizza?" Geoff asks Chris and chef quickly throws a knife at him, missing him by inches, which makes my eyes widen in shock.

Surely this isn't safe.

"Your first challenge begins in one hour." Chris exclaims before he walks out, and we all let out little 'oooo's of excitement.

As we all stand at the edge of the cliff, I regret getting excited.

"Okay, your first challenge is simple. Your first task is to jump off this 1000ft high cliff into the lake." Chris begins, and we all just shrug.

"Sounds easy enough." I whisper to Gwen.

"If you look down, you will see two target areas. The wider area represents the part of the lake that we have stocked with psychotic, man-eating sharks. Inside, that is the safe zone, which is your target area, which we're pretty sure is shark free." He tells us and leshawna shakes her head in total disbelief.

"Excuse me?" She quizzes.

"For each member of your team that jumps and actually survives, there will be a crate of supplies waiting below. Inside each crate are supplies that you'll need for the second part of the challenge, building a hot tub!" He exclaims.

"The team with the best one gets to have a wicked hot tub party tonight. The losers will be sending someone home. Let's see, killer bass. You're up first." He then finishes and as Bridgette and I move closer to the edge, our faces both change in fear.

"Oh, wow. So, who wants to go first?" She quizzes, and our whole team stays silent, Duncan even turning his back to us, and a million thoughts race through my head.

I mean, if I go first I get it over and done with, meaning over peoples screaming won't put me off.

"So, who's up first?" Eva asks and Duncan stares over at me.

"Ladies first." He coos and I furrow my eyebrows.

"Fine, I'll go." I say with a shrug as I approach the edge of the cliff, staring down at the water below me.

As I jump, I actually begin enjoying it, not letting out a single scream as I land in the smaller target, a boat coming to whisk me out of the water almost instantly as I happily climb on, looking back up at the top of the cliff to see Bridgette leaning over and shooting me a thumbs up.

Then Tyler goes, landing on the buoy, letting out a painful groan as he slides off it, causing me to slap a hand over my mouth.

Then Geoff goes, letting out excited screams without a care in the world, Eva following straight behind, Duncan falling close behind too as I stare at him with a small smile on my face as I watch how unfazed he is by this, almost as if he goes cliff diving every other weekend.

Ezekiel comes close behind, too, still wearing his shoes and hat for some reason, but I decide not to quiz against it, and we all clap and cheer from the small sandy area not too far away, even Duncan smiling slightly.

Then Harold comes down, landing on the water in the splits.

"Good luck trying to conceive with him." I mumble to Eva, who smiles slightly, but Duncan is the one who laughs.

"I didn't know you could laugh." I tease with a sarcastic smile.

"I didn't know you could he funny." He teases back, giving me the same smile.

I then realise bridgette, Dj, and Sadie haven't come down yet, which confuses me slightly, why aren't they coming?

But then my jaw drops when both Sadie and kadie jump down from the cliff.

"No fucking way did he let Kadie move into our team." I gasp to myself, which means either Bridgette, Izzy or Dj swapped into the Gophers, and I wouldn't care who did along as it wasn't Bridgette.

But I realise the rest of our team chickened out, as the other team begins to jump.

The screaming Gophers won the challenge they actually won, which means we have to drag our crates back to the camp, and we've got a decent amount away from where the crates were first placed, when Sadie, Kadie and Tyler all decide they need to pee, making me groan in annoyance.

"We're never winning this." I grumble to Eva and bridgette, who both nod in agreement.

Once they all eventually come back, we begin pushing our crates again, my arms beginning to ache from the weight of mine, but yet again Sadie and Kadie slow us down by itching themselves.

"You guys are way behind the other team. Like way behind, what's the problem?" Chris asks and I roll my eyes and point at them.

"Their butts are itchy." I groan in annoyance.

"Did you guys squat down when you peed in the woods?" Bridgette asks, and I try not to laugh at her chicken hat, but it's almost impossible.

"Yeah?" Kadie says.

"Did you happen to notice what kind of plants you were squatting down on?" Bridgette continues to ask.

"They were kind of oval shaped and green and all over the place." Sadie answers, put I zone out of their conversation as I continue to push my crate back to camp.

"Need help?" Duncan asks as he casually strolls over to me.

"Where's your crate?" I gasp and he points smugly over to Dj as he pushes a crate.

"Had to let the chicken do something." He says with a small laugh, and I move over slightly so there's enough space for Duncan to help push my crate.

"I didn't actually expect you to jump off of the cliff first." He admits, and I turn to him and smile, secretly being grateful for his help, as my arms don't ache as much from pushing and we're definitely getting closer to camp.

"Neither did I if I'm gonna be honest." I tell him with an awkward laugh.

"I'm Duncan, by the way incase you didn't already know that." He says and I feel his eyes on me.

"I'm y/n." I introduce with a smile.

Duncan and I are the first to make it back to camp, I collapse to my knees in exhaustion and decide to wait until the rest of my team are back to start doing stuff, and when we start building our hot tub, it's obvious what team wins.

"Congratulations screaming Gophers, you guys have won the challenge!" Chris exclaims, and I let out a small sigh.

"Gophers, you're safe from elimination, and you get to use this awesome hot tub for the rest of the summer, killer bass. What can I say? You lost, and I'll see your sorry butts tonight at the campfire for elimination." Chris says before walking off.

"So uh, what do we do now?" Kadie asks as our team all sits around the dinner table, eating whatever concoction chef has made for us.

"We have to think of someone to eliminate?" I say as if it wasn't obvious, and I can see Duncans' growing smile from beside me.

"Well, I think it should be either Bridgette or Dj." He says, and I shake my head.

"Not bridgette, she's my only good friend on this team, gwen is on the other team." I beg, and Duncan just smiles at me.

When Ezekiel says something really sexist, it's a bit obvious who we're gonna vote.

When he said that boys were better at sports and stronger than girls, I wanted to twist his stupid little head off of his shoulders, I mean, he's annoyed me ever since he got on this team, and he creeps me out. Especially when he was picking his nose and staring at me.

"Dude, you've got a lot to learn about the real world." Duncan says to Ezekiel after I told him why we all voted for him.

"Killer bass, at camp marshmallows represent a tasty treat that you enjoy roasting by the fire, but at this camp, marshmallows represent life. You've all cast your votes and made your decisions. There are only ten marshmallows on this plate. When I call your name, come up and claim your marshmallow. The camper who does not receive a marshmallow tonight must immediately return to the dock of shame to catch the boat of losers, which means you're out of the contest, and you can't come back Ever." Chris states, and we all just stare at him.

"The first marshmallow of the night goes to Geoff." He says, and Geoff runs to Chris and grabs his marshmallow.

"Tyler." Chris then says and Chris lets out a victory cheer as he collects his marshmallow.

"Kadie, bridgette, Dj, Harold, Sadie, Duncan." Chris continues and I suddenly stare up at the group.

Why is it now between Ezekiel and I, when there's one marshmallow left.

Suddenly, my heart begins to race, and I think I feel myself sweating.

"Campers, this is the final marshmallow of the evening.. y/n!" He bursts, and i stand up extremely happy as I collect my marshmallow from him, stabbing my marshmallow with my stick as I begin roasting it over the fire.

I wake up and rub my eyes, letting out a small groan as I roll over, falling off of the top bunk with a large thud, waking up basically all the girls who weren't already awake from the foghorn.

"Are you alright!?" Bridgette yells, and I sit up and shoot her a thumbs up.

"I forgot I wasn't at home. My beds a lot bigger than that, and it's closer to the floor." I tell her as we both let out small laughs, before Eva clears her throat.

"Are you sure you're okay? You bumped your head pretty hard." She states and I turn to her with a large smile.

"I'm sure I'm fine, I fall so much I'm really Clumsy." I say before Chris screams for everyone to hurry up and get out, so I quickly scramble to get changed before we all line up outside, and I speed walk to Gwen were I stand next to her.

"I hope you're all ready because your next challenge begins in exactly one minute." Chris yells, a little too enthusiastically, and Owen quickly panics.

"Oh, excuse me, I don't think that's enough time to eat breakfast." He says as she shakes his head, and chris sort of nods as if it was the whole point of this.

"Oh, you'll get breakfast, Owen. Right after you complete your twenty kilometre, run around the lake!" He yells, and Eva's eyebrows furrow as she lunges at Chris trying to hit him, but Duncan holds her back.

"Oh, so you're funny now!? You know what i think would be funny?" She exclaims.

"Eva, calm down it won't be that bad." I call to her.

Don't get me wrong, I like Eva, but her temper scares me so badly, and I've only known her for a week, but she is nice when she wants to be.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Eva quizzes Chris, and he looks at us all with a smug expression as he points to his watch.

"A little.. you have about thirty seconds." He then says, and Eva's brows furrow as she tries to lunge at him again, but duncans grip on her is too strong.

When the run begins, I suddenly realise how warm it is, and I'm really not in the mood to run, like don't get me wrong, I enjoy running and I'm good at it, but not when it's extremely warm and I'm just up but I walk beside Gwen to begin with, and we both laugh at how other people are running as if they're being chased by a mad psycho serial killer and I tell her about my fall earlier.

"Pick up the pace people, if you're not back for dinner tonight, you don't get to eat!" Chris exclaims as he drives past us on a scooter, and gwen and I both look at each other before we take off in a sprint.

I'm really happy I signed up for Total Drama Island because i met gwen, and I've not had a friend like her ever, I hope we'll still stay in touch once the shows ended.

Gwen and i make it back to the cabin shortly after, and burst in the door panting and almost falling too our knees out of exhaustion.

"Sorry Chris, I think you've mistaken yourself for my P.E. teacher." I growl as I go and sit at the table with people from my team, and Chris lets out a small laugh.

"I could have more than one career." He jokes and I let out a small laugh.

"Is one of them being a major pain?" I quiz and his laughing stops as he just shakes his head at me, but he smiles anyways.

"Clear a table now!" Owen screams as he barges into the cabin and drops noah on it, quickly giving him cpr as gwen stares. I'm shocked, leshawna walking in close behind.

"Where were you, Harold!? We lost!" I scream, and he just shakes me away before gwen lets out a squeal.

"Wait a minute if they lost.. that means we won the challenge!" She yells happily and her full team begins celebrating but Chris quickly shuts them down.

"Woah there, hold your horses, guys. That wasn't the challenge." Chris denies and I stare at him with pure anger, are you seriously telling me I just sprinted for nothing?

"What did you just say?" Gwen gasps, taking the words right out my mouth as I slam my head down on the table extremely outraged.

"Who's hungry!?" Chris yells and as I sit up I see a large table full of all sorts of foods, and usually I'm a picky eater but after I've ate the shit that chefs been making, I'm not so picky anymore.

I stand up and happily run to the table, staring down at all the food, and instantly we all begin eating, nobody caring about the usual table manners we'd normally have, and once we've ate the full table, I can practically feel a full food baby growing inside of me.

"Okay, campers, time for part two of your challenge." Chris yells through a megaphone.

"I thought eating was the second part." Owen gasps.

"What more do you want from us?" Gwen also gasps and Heather nods in agreement.

"Weird goth girl is right, haven't we been through enough?" Heather exclaims and I glare at her for insulting gwen.

"Uhm, let me think about that. No!" Chris screams through the megaphone.

"It's time for the awake-a-thon!" He yells, and I stare at him and gasp. He's just made us run and then eat ourselves to the brink of explosion, and now he's going to make us stay awake.

"The what-a-thon?" Owen asks confused and I turn my head to him, how stupid can one person be.

"Don't worry, this is an easy one. The team with the last camper standing wins invincibility." He announces, and I groan, I am not surviving this one.

"So, what you're saying was the 20k run and the turkey eating frenzy were part of your evil plan to stop us from staying awake?" Gwen asks and chris nods.

"That's right gwen!" He exclaims with an evil smile.

"Move move move!" He then yells, and we all leave the cabin, gwen grabbing me as trent approaches her.

"So, how long do you think it'll be before everyone's out cold?" He asks, but he's mainly asking gwen.

"About an hour give or take." She answers but as Owen walks past us I shake my head.

"Probably less." I say as we walk out the door.

It's been eleven hours, and everyone's still up, but it's clear we're all tired due to the dark eyebags we've all grown to get, but the thing is I'm not even that tired to be honest, but the tiredness kicks in once Owen passes out from lack of sleep, and I instantly realise I am extremely tired.

"This is so boring." I sigh to Duncan who is now somehow sitting beside me, although minutes ago he was nowhere to he seen.

"Atleast the fun people are still awake." He says with a slight nudge to my shoulder earning a small smile from me.

"This has to be some sort of illegal." I then say to Duncan and he just shrugs.

"I mean, we did agree to doing weird stuff like this, plus I've done worse and gotten away with it, so im sure they can too." He tells me, and I cross my arms.

"I wish I could go back in time to tell myself not to do it." I groan, and Duncan nods in agreement as I turn to look at him, and he lets out a small chuckle.

"Heard you fall earlier." He coos and I roll my eyes.

"Yeah, from the top bunk while I was still half asleep." I add, and he raises an eyebrow.

I'm assuming we've almost been up for 24 hours now, and I've came to the conclusion that if I walk around then I can't fall asleep, I mean I'm keeping my brain occupied aren't I?

"Y/n, you have to sit down. You're going to end up killing yourself." Duncan calls and I shrug him off.

"At least i'll die active." I argue, and he just rolls his eyes as he continues to watch me walk around.

Looking back, I totally regret walking around. It made me so much more exhausted, but I didn't want to fall asleep, not yet atleast I don't want to be one of the first people out.

Bridgette, izzy, noah, Sadie, Harold, and kadie are all all sleeping now, and honestly, I'm extremely jealous, but no way am I falling asleep on national TV.

"Congratulations, campers, you've made it to the twenty four hour mark, time to take things up a notch, fairytales." Chris yells as chef walks in wearing a lamb costume whilst carrying a harp, and i know this won't be good, so I begin jogging on the spot, trying to do anything that'll help me stay awake because at this point I'm desperate.

As Chris begins to read the fairy tales in his monotone voice, chef starts playing the harp, and I can't help but let out a small laugh to myself at how insane he looks.

Tyler and Geoff almost instantly fall asleep, and I panic, i have to stay awake otherwise my team will lose, and I do not want to vote another player out.

We very slowly hit the forty hour mark and I find myself back next to Duncan, and we both try to spark up a little conversation.

"The first day when you said 'nice piercings' to me, were you saying it to be mean? Not that I care or anything, I just want to know." Duncan asks as we move to sit on the floor facing each other.

"No, I meant it. They're cool. I wish I was brave enough to pull something like that off." I tell him with a genuine smile, and he shrugs.

"I mean, you never know unless you try, right?" He asks, and I shrug, I suppose he's right.

"My parents would never, they'd kill me." I gasp and he laughs.

"That's one of the reasons why I did it." Duncan tells me, and I laugh and stare at him.

"Oh, big Mr. criminal rebels against his parents." I joke as I rub my eyes, trying my hardest to stay awake now that I'm talking to Duncan.

"Give me a break." He groans, but I can't help but see the smile he's trying his hardest to conceal.

"So, how's life for you outside the island?" Duncan then asks desperately, trying to keep the conversation going as it's keeping us both up.

"Well, I go to school during the day and at weekends I work at a small coffee shop near my house." I answer and he scoffs.

"God. Do you actually care about your education?" He asks, as if it was even a question, and I let out a small laugh.

"I mean, it probably sounds boring or whatever, but I want to be a history teacher when I leave school, I love history." I tell him and he rolls his eyes so I gasp.

"Oh come on, then Mr Big hard criminal, what do you want to be when you grow up?" I ask, and he raises his eyebrows.

"A professional criminal." He answers, and I can't really tell if he's joking or not.

"Nope. Now you can't be one because you've just ruined your plans on national TV, I wouldn't be surprised if you're whisked away back to juvy after saying that." I tell him with a joking laugh which he returns.

"Wouldn't be the first time." He tells me and I stare at him confused, suddenly now extremely intrigued.

"What've you gone to Juvie for?" I question, and he smiles at the fact I'm actually interested.

"Fights, vandalism, petty theft, just the boring stuff, you know?" He asks with a small chuckle.

"You act as if going to Juvie is an everyday thing." I say with a horrified look before he starts a different conversation.

"Why did you sign up for Total Drama?" He asks me and I think for a second.

"I mean, for the experience, I suppose, I don't really do stuff like this and to make friends on the show, I guess. I don't have many friends back at home. What about you?" I respond and he nods.

"To get out of juvie, also for the money, but then again I'm not guaranteed to win anyway am I?" He answers, and I nod. He has a fair point. Whoever wins is completely luck based, apart from challenges anyway.

But my attention is grabbed when Owen walks past us butt naked, and we both let out large laughs, and I'm surprised it didn't wake the other already sleeping contestants up.

"Even when you're dying of exhaustion, you're still pretty." Duncan says to me and I look at him as I begin blushing with a small smile on my face, but I say nothing and look away trying to hide my blush.

"You've got a boyfriend back at home, don't you? Sorry." Duncan quickly says, and i shake my head as I turn to him.

"No, I don't, I just don't handle compliments well, plus you're not too bad yourself." I reassure you, and he nods as he begins smiling again.

We eventually hit the fifty-one hour mark when everyone looks at Justin, who's just been staring out into the forest, unmoving for the past probably, fifty hours, I'd say.

But when gwen pokes his face and his actual eyes open, revealling that he painted his eyes on I let out a horrific gasp.

"Holy shit." I gasp to myself.

"His eyelids are painted, I saw it!" Eva screams, and everyone turns to Justin as chris begins to walk over to investigate, but he's still out although it was impressive.

We finally hit the eighty five hour mark, and honestly, i know duncan inside out, i could answer any question about him. it's insane, and that's when Duncan leans close to my ear as he points to Harold.

"Do you want to see something funny?" He whispers and I nod and Duncan quickly slips away before he comes back with a cup of water and places Harold's hand in it, instantly making him pee himself I snort with laughter as I slap a hand over my mouth trying to quiet myself.

"You're so sad!" I whisper yell to Duncan through my laughter.

Heather, gwen, Trent, Duncan Eva, and I are the only ones left, and I hope they all fall asleep soon so I can finally shut my eyes.

"Alright, you six stay with me. The rest of you go get a shower for heavens sake you stinK!" Chris yells to everyone who's now eliminated.

"I didn't want it to come to this, I said that to Chef Hatchet last night, I said 'chef, I don't want it to come to this!' But darn it, these campers are tough, so I've come up with the most boring, sleep inducing activity I can find." Chris yells and I furrow my eyebrows.

Honestly. What can be more boring than sitting awake for eighty five hours straight with hardly anything to do apart from talk to Duncan and gwen, and as much as I wasn't complaining, I was going to kill the other contestants just so I could sleep, I mean seriously how is it possible we all stayed up for that long? But I don't mind staying up with Duncan. He's really nice once you get to know him. I think I like him a little.

"The history of Canada, a pop-up book. Chapter one, the beaver and a real fine hat." Chris says putting on the same monotone voice from earlier as he pulls out the book, opening it up and I let out a massive sigh as I go to throw my hands up outraged, I realise Duncan and I are sitting as if we're glued shoulder to shoulder together and I find myself blushing.

Eighty six hours in now, Chris is still reading, Eva and Heather are asleep now so it's just two remaining from each team.

As chris continued to groan on with that silly monotone voice, I was due standing up and ripping that silly book from his hands and beating him to death with it.

Gwens pov 😜

As trent falls asleep, I look towards y/n and Duncan to see how my competition is holding up, and that's when I watch y/n fall asleep, her head landing on duncans shoulder as he turns bright red clearly oblivious on what to do, and he stays like that for a solid ten minutes until Chris closes the book.

"Bathroom break, any takers?" He asks and I watch as duncans leg bounces up and down as he clearly needs the toilet.

"I've held it this long, sweetheart, I could go all day." He scoffs to me and I raise my eyebrows as I stand up.

"Yeah, but can you hold it for another ten chapters?" I coo, and his face goes ghostly white, and he goes to jump up, but y/n let's out a small tired groan, and he looks at me.

"Gwen, swap places with me, we can switch back once I'm done." He begs and I nod my head as we carefully switch places, me being careful not to wakeup y/n, but chef comes quickly to pick her up and take her to her cabin so she can sleep on her bed for a little while.

Back to ur pov

When I wake up, i only hear Eva screaming and throwing things around in our cabin, but I'm too tired to care so I instantly fall back asleep, being awake for eightysix hours changes you I swear.

As I sit next to Duncan at the bonfire falling in and out of sleep, he has to shake me to make sure I stay awake from time to time, and each time I open my eyes to his extremely tired smile, but I think its cute that he's still trying for me, could Duncan like me back?

I know it's insane that I've now got a crush on Duncan when I've only known him for a week, but after spending eighty six hours talking to him straight, it changed my perspective on him, he's sweet.

I'm not even listening to what Chris has to say, really. I'm too tired, I'm only listening for my name, which is said third, so I happily stand up and grab my marshmallow, sticking it on my stick as I hold it over the fire till its a perfect golden shade, and I blow on it for a few seconds and begin eating it, letting out a small gasp when I realised I did it perfectly, and as much as I'm sad that Eva was voted out anyway, I'm kinda glad. Her temper was too much for me.

"I definitely do like Duncan, I think he's really nice to me anyway, and that's all that matters, right? But he can't like me. He's probably just acting like this with me, so I fall into a fake alliance like what Heather is doing with Lindsay and Beth. It's cruel but smart." I say to the camera in the confession booth toilet thing, I'm still not too sure what it even is at this point, before I rake my mind trying to think of what else to say, but there's nothing really, so I open the door and climb out, walking straight Into Duncan.

"Woah there, princess, watch your step." He coos as he places his hand on my shoulders.

"Watch where you're standing." I coo back as I motion to how he's right infront of the door.

"Maybe I wanted to hear what you were saying." He says, and I feel my face drop. He's joking, right? He has to be joking.

"It's meant to be confidential!" I gasp as I stare at him.

"Confidential, but you're saying it to a camera which broadcasts it to live TV? Cmon y/n I thought you were smarter than this, you want to be a history teacher!" Duncan argues and I roll my eyes but I can't help but smile at him.

"It's not an act, by the way." He says as he grabs my chin with two fingers and forces it up to look at him, and I turn bright red before he lets go and begins climbing in our make do confession booth.

"I'll see you at dinner, princess." He then coos as he slams the door, and I stand and stare at the door for a minute. Surely this isn't happening.

As I walk back to the cabins, I see gwen walking over to me with a large smile on her face as I approach her and I quickly grab her wrist and drag her into a area only slightly into the forest, but its far away from everyone so nobody can hear, and I let it all spill, everything.

"Wait, so Duncan heard you confessing you like him, and now he's flirting with you?" She asks with a small laugh and I shrug.

"I don't know if I could say it was flirting.. more like teasing?" I answer and she shakes her head.

"Y/n, come on, how blind are you? He's so into you." She says as she grabs my shoulders and shakes them violently, shaking up my brains, but we both laugh anyway.

"So what should I do about it?" I then ask, and she smirks.

"At dinner, ignore him. Come sit with trent, and I, make him talk to you." She states and I nod slowly taking all this in.

And at dinner I do exactly that, I sit next to gwen, trent sitting directly infront of us as we eat chefs food, and honestly I've grown to like it and I'll definitely miss it when I have to go home, but I think I'm going to miss everything about the camp, even maybe Chris and Heather. Maybe.

All throughout dinner, I can feel duncans eyes on me, and gwen confirms it when she nudges me.

"God y/n, I'm surprised your head hasn't exploded with the way he's staring at you." She whispers and I smile and look up at Duncan, who continues to stare at me even now that I've noticed his staring, and he doesn't even look embarrassed that he's been caught and instead he just waves and I wave back, and gwen motions for him to come sit with us and honestly he flies off of the table he's sitting at and practically runs towards our table taking the seat infront of me.

"I couldn't handle another minute of Sadie and kadie talking." He groans, and I smile.

"Yeah? Try sharing a bedroom with them all night they sit and giggle about best friend stuff." I say, furrowing my eyebrows, and gwen nudges me.

"If we're ever invited back once this season is over, we should beg Chris to let us on the same team so we can do that." She gasps and I widen my eyes at her as I nod.

"Yeah, smart idea." I agree and Duncan and trent both shake their heads.

"Please don't." They both beg in usion and gwen, and I let out small laughs.

Once dinners over, we all decide to walk to the firepit, seeing as we don't see anyone walking in that direction, and once we get there, Duncan grabs my hand.

"You guys wouldn't mind if I borrowed y/n for a moment?" Duncan asks, but he doesn't even wait for an answer as he drags me down to the bottom of the dock of shame where he stands infront of me, and I can't help but imagine how many people are watching this right now, but I mean it's not really my main concern at this exact moment of time.

"I do actually like you, and I know it's hard to believe seeing the sort of situation we're in right now, but I really do." Duncan quietly tells me, his big Mr criminal ego suddenly dissapeared.

"Well, you listened to my time with the camera so you know I like you too." I tell him as i shake my head.

"No, but y/n, I mean I like you, like no matter what happens on this island, I want to leave it being in a relationship with you." He continues and I just laugh.

"Duncan?" I ask.

"What?" He replies.

"Shut up." I say with a small laugh before I lean up and kiss him.

[phyrestartr]

My World Ends With You (1/2) | Miguel O'hara x M!Reader

Miguel x Husband!Reader W/C: 4.7k

#SFW, hurt/comfort, infidelity, toxic relationships, brief verbal abuse, mending relationships, difficult/complex feelings and emotions, things work out in the end, nobody dies, the zombies aren't that important, old men just really going through it, ZOMBIES BABEY

Note: Tis a continuation of Till Death Do Us Part . Would rec reading that first lest you get mad confused

--

“Did Miguel cheat on you?” 

The question caught you off guard. As far as you knew, only a handful of people got the gist of what happened, and even fewer knew the exact reason why everything systematically fell apart. 

“How'd you–who told you?” You asked Gwen, surprise and trepidation creasing your brow. 

The young lady shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest tighter as she leaned toward the fire you'd made–the one you made out of pure restlessness from staying inside for too long. You decided to pretend you were out in the great outdoors like the old days, and set up a ring of rocks and chairs on the roof to escape the fluorescent lights and white walls. Evidently, Gwen needed a break from it all, too.

“Gabi.” She fiddled with her toque and cleared her throat. “She, uh--y'know. She mentioned it.” 

“Huh.” Your gaze wandered away from Gwen, and back to the fire. “I didn't think she'd remember.” 

“How old was she? When it happened, I mean.” 

“Must've been 11. We split when she was 13, I'm pretty sure.” You sighed and leaned back in your shitty old soccer mom chair. “Guess we were bad at hiding it.”

“Pretty hard to hide that kinda thing from your kid,” Gwen mumbled, dwelling on something ancient and sore in the depths of her memories. “They're more perceptive than you think.” 

You nodded. The stars caught your attention and you stared up, gazing upon the winking lights and shooting comets flying by. Most of those celestial bodies were there when everything happened. Did they remember, too? Were they haunted, too?

“Yeah. My parents thought I didn't know nothin’ either. They didn't know how wrong that was,” you agreed. 

“So he did cheat on you?” Gwen asked. You nodded. She scoffed. “But--why? He always acts so lovey-dovey and gross around you. Why would he–?”

“Good people do bad things,” you said, and continued before she could cut in, “‘n bad people do good things, sometimes.” 

“So which camp is he in?” She asked.

“Pretty sure he's mostly good.” 

“Pretty sure?” 

You chuckled. “I've met ‘bad guys,’ believe me.” You took a breath and nudged some logs around in the fire with a stick. “Miguel ain't like them. He's full of himself, arrogant, stubborn ‘n all that, but he's helped people. He's helping people, even if he's got a crap attitude about it.” 

“Right,” Gwen breathed. Her voice carried something heavy with it. Something uncertain and unwavering, like the teeter of winter into spring, or thunder that wondered if it might rain. Her restless energy mirrored the fire as it roiled and spat brilliant sprays of embers into the cold, night sky; only, the fire would eventually die down, calm itself into blackened coals. Gwen’s torch would not fade as such. 

“You think he’s a bad guy?” You asked. 

“Never really thought he was a good guy.” She rubbed the back of her neck before sighing. “But. Yeah.  Never thought he was a bad guy, either. Kinda feels like a vigilante, or something. But less cool.”

You smiled when you peered over at her. “Maybe like an antihero?” 

“Way less cool than that, but yeah. Sure. An antihero,” she huffed. “But you’re a blue-blood. I don’t think those types are supposed to get along.” 

That made you laugh. “I think they get along pretty well. They do in the comics, even if they don’t see eye-to-eye on everything.” 

Gwen rolled her eyes. “You mean most things?”

You nodded. “Yeah, most things.” You tucked your hands into your pockets and gazed up again, this time losing your thoughts to the endless void of grey sweeping in and devouring all light in the sky. “You don't need to worry about me, Gwen. There’re more–”

“More important things to worry about?” She finished, not sounding too impressed. “Feels like you're using the end of the world as an excuse.” 

You frowned, and wiped the dew of melted snowflakes from your cheek. “Maybe you got yourself a point, there.” 

–

You were the new kid in year 12. Normally, no one gave a shit–it was New York, after all–but you had a tendency to catch everyone's attention when you never sought to try. 

You were a country boy. A fella with a strange tendency to be kind and hold doors open for ladies or help some sorry idiot pick up their dropped assignment. That gentle lilt in your voice, the only evidence that you weren't from the city, always had people staring your way. Boys would mock you, especially when their girls flushed soft colours and whispered while they glanced your way. It didn't help that you were handsome as all hell, too. 

And one day, like a fucking fairytale, Miguel finally ran into you and got hit with the triple threat that was your accent, face, and genuinity–what he didn't expect, however, was to meet you at the Kwan's ranch.

You were clad in boots and jeans and a stupid cliche cowboy hat hung around your neck, hiding the impressive display of shoulder blades flexing and rippling with strong muscle as you shoveled and cleaned out the old hay and debris from the stables. Something warm and melodious trilled under your breath as you worked, and it beckoned like a siren's song--so captivating Miguel couldn't help himself. 

“Hey,” he said. 

You looked over your broad shoulder and blinked a few times, like you were showing off the brilliant hue of your eyes on purpose. A kindly smile made you shine brighter, too, like the sun somehow lit you up from within. 

“Howdy,” you said. 

“Howdy?” Miguel snorted and tucked his hands into the pockets of his shorts as he wandered in. “That's a little too country, isn't it?” 

“Is it now?” The twang in your voice must’ve been fake. No normal person sounded like they were ripped straight from a Western. “Maybe you're just too city.” 

“Hm.” Miguel crossed his arms and leaned against a beam as he watched you continue to work. “Maybe.” 

“Come on, now,” you laughed, “I can smell the city on you. Could probably taste it, too, if I could.” 

Miguel's face burned. His heart pitter-pattered just a little bit faster, soon going a lot faster when he registered the wink you threw his way. Were you flirting? Was it working? Was Miguel swooning? 

Yes, yes and yes. 

–

“Y'know, you don't have to be such a busy body,” Miguel said, wandering into the lab-turned-greenhouse. He had to admit, it looked good. Peaceful. And it certainly helped with keeping everyone fed and happy. So did your presence at Alchemax; you and Gabriella felt like a fresh coat of paint on a beat-up old car. A nice change. Good additions. 

And Miguel felt complete now that you were with him, too. There were still issues, still things to work out and problems to talk about, but it felt nice to work towards something selfish and meaningful. Something that was wholly and unabashedly for him and him alone.

But you were such a restless man. All day, every day, Miguel found you working; clearing snow, repotting, sowing seeds, cleaning, teaching, handyman-ing were all on your resume of husband material and so clearly those skills ruled your mind every waking hour of every day. It didn't help that the other folks In the colony realized just how much of a do-gooder sweetheart you were. Miguel was one more flirty comment away from nuking the building. 

But the way you smiled in the face of adversity let him keep a reasonable cool. Whether it was your awkward attempt to be cordial with someone who so clearly thirsted for you and your attention, or in a sheepish and innocently guilty way whenever Miguel called you out for working too much, you had a way of melting his frigid heart into something cool and light like an autumnal spring.

“I’m just puttering,” you hummed, pausing what you were doing to lean in and give him a kiss, careful to keep your dirt-crusted hands away from him and his neatness. “Just movin’ some of these into bigger pots. Don’t want them to go dying on us.” 

“I think they’d live.” Miguel hummed as he looked over the array of little plants sprouting with flourishes of brilliant emerald. His hand slipped to the small of your back before his arms looped around your waist, and he pulled you flush against his chest. “I need you more than they do.”

You laughed, soft and smoky. “That right?”

“Yeah.” Miguel left a sweet kiss on your neck, right on the odd, heart-shaped-ish scar he used to leave hickeys over back in the day. “They’re not the only ones that need fertilizing.”

“Christ. Did Pete teach you that one?” You laughed, but didn’t crumble and fertilize Miguel. Damn. 

Your partner huffed. “Come on, just–can’t you take a break, viejo?” He kissed your neck another handful of times and buried his face into the strong curve of your shoulder with a most petulant sigh. “Feels like I only get to see you when we go to bed.” 

“Not much different from how it used to be,” you said. “I worked nights, you worked days. Hardly got to see each other.” 

“I hated it,” Miguel mumbled. And you actually paused, your busy hands halting with the rest of your body. “I wanted you home with me. I didn’t want you to work nights.” 

He felt you shift again, the sound of your hands under running water sparking hope in his chest. But he snuffed it out himself–he knew you too well. You weren’t the type to stop when something needed to be done. Miguel couldn’t fault you for it, though, not when he was the exact same way. 

“Miggs.” You turned in his arms and held the sides of his face. “I’m not going anywhere. No night shifts, no driving after gun-toutin’ idiots on the highway, no overtime. You can always find me if you need me.” 

“Would you've come for me and Dana–” he stopped, a bout of regret punching the words back down his throat. The sudden distance in your eyes and the stiffness of your touch haunted him. Why did he have to talk? Why was he still chasing you away like this? 

“Don't,” Miguel pleaded, his hands flying up to your arms, holding you still. 

An overcast of something chased away the far look. Miguel wished he could read you as easily as you read him. He didn't know what you were thinking. Did he ever?

“I still have some things I'm working on getting past, Miggs,” you managed. “I don't--I'm trying.” 

Miguel nodded. What could he say, really? Try harder? Love me more? Get over it already? Your marriage reached a difficult point before the apocalypse; now, it'd climbed to new heights, but problems erased themselves thanks to the simple fact that the world had ended. There were more deadly things to worry about in the present.

“Just let me know if I can help,” your partner offered. And you smiled, tired and weary, unknowingly soothing the frigid panic freezing Miguel's veins. 

“Promise I will.” You gently stroked the arch of his cheekbone with the back of your knuckles. “Just don't worry too much. I'm alright.” 

And he believed you. 

– 

“Who's your friend?” 

The question drove Miguel insane, like a chisel tapping away at marble. Because everyone asked when they saw you, a stupidly handsome, ridiculously tall, polite southern gentleman dressed to the nines in a custom suit Miguel picked out himself–garments he picked out for his fiancé. His betrothed. His to-be husband. 

Miguel's coworkers knew he was taken. He thought it'd be obvious by whom since, well, he rolled up to the event with you and had complimentary outfits with you and you were wearing a fucking ring on the finger.

Still, countless folks introduced themselves to you, sweeping you up into conversations and leaning in too close for comfort. Miguel’s ego swelled, sure; he had the most impeccable, handsome, perfect man in the world, but his jealousy chomped away at his temper. He didn't like people thinking they had a chance with you. It was funny at first, but you were too nice to snap at them, to put them in their places. And, quite frankly, Miguel had had more than enough of watching his damn coworkers throw themselves at you the second they heard that stupid, endearing drawl or saw your charming, lopsided smile. 

He floated to your side, anchoring an arm around your waist while his other hand held a crystalline glass of something golden and fancy. 

“Hey,” Miguel hummed as your eyes met, and he leaned in, planting a soft, sweet peck onto your lips. “Havin’ fun?” The energy around the bystanders shifted dramatically. Miguel felt more pleased than a lion catching its prey. 

“Better now that you’re here,” you hummed, eyes creasing with a gentle tilt of your lips. He loved that look on you. It was the same one you wore every morning when you cooed your sweet good morning-s. 

“I make everything better,” Miguel agreed. He finished his drink and handed it off to whatever poor sod stood beside him. “Guess they haven’t heard the good news.” 

Your head tilted as whispers spread around you both. “Thought you would’ve told ‘em by now, honey.” 

“Well,” Miguel said, sing-songy and so obviously annoyed and bitter with how annoying this event had been for him. He took your hand and brought it up, feigning examination while purposefully catching the light on the band of gold hugging your finger. “I didn’t think anyone would be stupid enough to not put two and two together.” 

With that, the vibe died. Soft scoffs and muttered words were left in the wake of party-goers as they abandoned the two of you. Some offered anxious goodbyes to you before shuffling off, but many who’d been burned and shit on by Miguel in the past were not pleasant enough to separate you from your man. Which Miguel preferred. 

Miguel smirked to himself, satisfied with his work. Though, when he met your eyes, you looked anything but impressed. Oops. He probably should’ve considered the aftermath.

“Look, they should know who they're messing with,” he testified.

You quirked a brow. “You mean who they're talkin’ to?” 

Miguel huffed, the smallest of pouts forming. “Don't give me that. They were all over you.” 

“Honey, no one's ever gonna replace you, alright? You've got nothin’ to worry about.” Still exasperated, you smiled, and fixed his tie for him, giving it a light tug and tucking it back against his breast neatly. “You think I'd ever fool around behind your back?” 

“What? No.” Why wouldn’t you? You were handsome, a gentleman, a man who could have anything and anyone you wanted with looks and charm alone. So maybe–maybe that's why Miguel did what he did. Maybe he was trying to show you just how wrong you were. 

“Exactly. Now, you stop worrying and try to enjoy the event, alright? Promise I'll stay by your side for peace of mind,” you said with a wink. Miguel melted. You were too good for him. 

��Por dios–yeah, alright, okay. Fine.” He huffed and pulled you in close to him again and gave you a sweet kiss to seal the deal. 

And of course, it was in that moment Dana passed him by with a smile full of secrets and damning evidence–a vault that he wanted to break open and force you to face.  

–

Miles fucked up. 

He yanked open that fucking car door–specifically when told not to–and set off the dinner bell for whatever undeads still wandered the streets of New York. 

The race through the city streets wasn't so easy, not after years of the military, militia and more trying to block off streets, take a stance against the unending hordes threatening human existence–tanks, trucks, barricades and more littered and cluttered the streets like the puddles after a storm. Every vault and jump was uncertain despite determined, never really knowing if the next car the group jumped onto would throw one of you to the ground with a broken leg or twisted ankle. Miguel almost wished Miles shattered his knee. 

Especially when you nearly didn't make it inside. 

Miguel pulled you through just as they got the shitty garage door down, and he pulled you up, eyes wide and jaw set as pain jolted your features. 

“Hey, hey, what's–you're fine. You're fine,” he whispered. His hand frantically touched where they could before settling on either side of your face as you both fought to catch your breath. “You're fine.” 

But you shook your head. “I, uh--need you to back away from me, baby.” 

“No.” 

“I gotta make sure, be careful–” 

“No.” 

You pulled his hands away from your face, and Miguel saw liquid ruby stain his skin, too. 

“Listen,” you rasped as you limped toward a rundown car with your cuffs unlatched from your belt. “We gotta–gotta clear the shop. Miggs, you take care of the doors.” 

But he didn’t. He stood still, shoulders rolling with the heavy breaths he sucked in while you and Gwen puttered around the small, homely garage to the tune of the undead hissing and snarling just beyond the metal door. Miguel took a deep breath, in through the nose, out through the mouth. In through the–

“I–uh, what should I do?” Miles asked. 

Miguel whirled around and stalked to him, explosive rage fuelling his steps across the room. He grabbed Miles’ shirt and slammed him into the wall, looming over him like a titan. 

“You are not going to do anything,” Miguel growled. Miles’ eyes widened as he shrunk. “This is your fucking fault in the first place.”

“Hey, he’s just a kid–” Gwen tried, but Miguel’s quick glance her way stalled her. “He didn’t mean to–”

“That’s the problem. He doesn’t know how to survive out here and he’s not willing to use his fucking brain to fill in the gaps.” 

“Dude, let go of me!” Miles snapped, panic lancing through the quiver in his voice. “You can’t–” Miguel slammed him into the wall again. The undead shrieked and howled a mere half a foot away beyond the stone walls barring them out. 

Miguel basked in the dread eating away at Miles’ confidence. “It was a mistake to bring you here. You were a mis–” 

You yanked Miguel off the kid and slammed him into the wall, hand clapping over your partner’s mouth while your red-hot stare bore into the back of his skull and pinned him still. Your other hand held firm over his throat. You didn’t hurt him, but the fingertips digging into the straining tendons of Miguel’s neck threatened the opposite. 

“Quiet,” is what you commanded.

The room fell silent. And it stayed that way. It was hard to tell if anyone still breathed or lived in the minutes you all stood, patient, suffocating, and you stayed in that unsure limbo while the bloodthirsty reverie gradually de-crescendoed in the placid muteness. Slowly, slowly, with each wandering corpse that left to chase errant noises or to wander aimlessly with no mission left in mind, the air in your sanctuary began to heal. 

Your grip became kinder, and you let go, staggering back on unsteady legs. Then, you collapsed.

–

Your injury turned out to be a gash, not a bite. It ran across your shoulder horizontally, accented by a few other gouges bloodying your exhausted face and Miguel's busy hands. 

He stitched you up carefully yet thoroughly, eagerly trying to finish the job while you squeezed your eyes closed and gnawed on the belt wedged between your teeth. To your credit, you handled the temp stitches well. You only really shifted and panicked when Miguel tried to flush the wound with what water he had on hand. 

“That should hold until we get back,” he murmured for your ears only. He cut the thread with his teeth after tying it off, and wrapped your arm with a strip of torn shirt. 

You nodded tiredly and let him take the belt from between your teeth. “Thank you.” You sat up a little straighter against the wall and took deep breaths, eyes squeezed closed and brow beaded with sweat. 

Heat flared in Miguel’s chest. If not for you, Miguel would have ripped Miles a new one. He might have even thrown him to the undead in your name. If you'd come out infected, doomed to die, he'd make sure Miles suffered the same. 

“Don't be so hard on him,” you rasped, voice blending with the soft crackle of the unconvincing campfire. 

Miguel's stare hardened into ice. “He could've–” 

“Miguel.” He looked at you, and melted as you leaned into his warmth. “Lectures can wait. We need to get home first.” 

You were right. And it enraged Miguel further. He wanted to take his anger out on something, or better yet someone, but you just–

“You remember when you proposed?” You whispered. 

The creases between Miguel's brows lifted and smoothed. “‘Course I remember.” He slid a careful arm around your waist and held you to his side. He kissed the top of your head and inhaled your scent. “You were coming home from a night shift.” 

He remembered it too clearly, actually. You, being exhausted and out of it, still suited up in your uniform when you came through the door with a yawn. 

Coffee, your other beloved, lured you to the kitchen where Miguel knew you'd find him. Though he hated not waking up beside you those mornings, he cherished the sleepy back hugs you'd greet him with while you both waited for the carafe to fill. 

“Mornin’,” you grumbled into his neck between small kisses. “Sleep good?” 

Miguel always leaned back into you and basked in the wander of your hands and the scent of cigarettes hiding in your words. It all meshed too well with the bitterness of coffee. “Woulda slept better with you here.” 

You hummed, crackly and apologetic. “Good thing that was my last night shift this block, hey? Get to wake up with you tomorrow.” Your fingertips dragged up the hem of shirt in your search to feel the dips and curves of his toned stomach. “And the next day, and the next day…”

Miguel turned in your arms to spy your drowsy smile. He cupped your face, running his thumbs along the bags under your eyes, before giving you a peck. “I think you need a nap, mi amor.” 

“No, no, ‘m fine. Promise. Just need a shower ‘n I'll be right as rain.” You took one of his hands in your own and turned to kiss his palm. “Wouldn’t be opposed to a mid-morning nap, though.” 

“Lucky for you, I'm getting back in bed after coffee's done.” Miguel kissed you again, purposely mooshing his nose against yours. “Go take a shower. I'll pour you a cup.” 

You hummed, accepting the offer, and very very reluctantly separated from your lover. “Just don't make mine too crazy sweet, alright?” 

Miguel huffed. “Tch. I don't even make it that sweet.” But you were already sauntering off to the ensuite, loud yawn punctuating your departure. “Pendejo.” 

The coffee maker beeped not too long after. Thoughts of what to do with the weekend swirled through Miguel's mind with the springy, disoriented bounce of ADHD while he made up both of your coffees, one just sorta sweet, and one just a little (a lot) sweeter. Honestly, Miguel was bad at making coffee to your taste. Too often he'd watch you stand at the coffee maker, measuring cream, sugar and coffee in your quest to achieve a perfect bitterness to sweetness ratio. 

But when Miguel made you coffee, you never complained. Simply requested it not be too sweet. And everytime Miguel handed you that cup, trepidation filling the childish part of his pride, you always declared it was perfect from the first sip. 

Perfect. Like you. Like his life. That's why he needed to–

“Honey,” you called, bringing your partner back to the present. He turned to you, eyebrows raising in interest at just how low the towel hung from your hips–until he saw the small box in your hand. That made his heart start pounding. 

Miguel crossed his arms and cleared his throat, trying to hide his sheer panic. “Where did you–”

“You forgot it in the bathroom. I think. Found it on the counter.” 

Shit. Fuck. Shit. He really forgot to put that stupid thing away. He really went all cliché romcom and rehearsed in front of the mirror and didn't put the fucking ring away. What the fuck was wrong with him? He was supposed to be a goddamn genius, and yet–

You opened the box because of course you would. Anyone with a shred of curiosity would. And you whistled in a way that only cowboys could. Back when you were both young, you whistled at Miguel like that when he walked by. Lyla said you weren't one to do that, that that was a first for you.

“Damn. This thing looks expensive.” You pulled the gold ring out and looked it over as Miguel came to you. The band was simple gold, yes, but inlaid was a diamond flanked by your birthstone and his, all shaped in a striking baguette cut. The piece was simple and masculine, something befitting you entirely. 

But you were too out of it to realize what the fuck it was you were holding. 

“Bet I could buy a farm with this.” 

Miguel had to laugh a bit at that. “Most people would say a house, you know.” 

“Farm's better. Comes with a house.” You snatched up his hand and examined his fingers, probably sizing up which one the ring–your ring--was supposed to fit on. “Either way, you’re gonna turn heads with a whole mortgage on your finger, I'll tell you what.” 

Miguel's chest warmed. Maybe because of your smooth way of talking, or maybe because you were too sweet and admiring of your partner. Miguel couldn't tell. But it was probably both. 

“On my finger?” He repeated as he plucked the ring from the box. His heart beat in his ears. His face burned. But it was now or never. “I think it'd look better on yours.” 

“What?” You asked, soft and confused, sorta like you'd realized what that ring meant halfway through. “Wait, wait–” 

“I was going to.” Miguel slid the fine gold band on your left ring finger. “But then you ruined the surprise.” 

There was something magical in that moment. Your hand in Miguel's, the sparkle of new promise shining on your finger, the glitter of crystals pooling in your eyes. And your eyes were so wide, like you didn't quite believe Miguel would want to marry someone like you, so he had to say it, if not for the cliché, movie finale:

“Will you marry m–” 

You kissed him before he could finish. Your arms flew around his neck as your weight hit him like a ton of bricks. But he caught you both and held you close, laughing against your lips as the ball of doubt unraveled as every whispered chant of ‘yes, yes, yes,’ touched his skin. 

Those days were good. They were simple. They were The start of everything Miguel could have dreamed of–and then he ruined it. 

“Still hard to believe you wanted me, sometimes,” you reminisced, looking down at the dull, chipped set of rings hugging your finger still.

“You're the only one,” he murmured into your hair. “Even when–even if I–no matter what. No matter what, it was always you. It'll always be you.” Then where's your ring, Miguel?

You hummed and sunk into your partner's warmth more, staying silent with your thoughts as you watched the dim flicker of the fire and the two others collapsed around it. “Try not to be so hard on Miles.” Ah. “He screwed up. But we need to keep morale up.” 

Miguel huffed. “So you only mentioned our–you just wanted me to stop thinking about today.” 

“I wanted you to relax, sweetheart.” God, that smile was so clear in your voice. 

“Tch. Pendejo. He deserves to be yelled at.” 

“By his father. At home. Where it's safe.” 

“Fine.” 

[silky-nereid]

— Camping trip with family

Yandere serial killer wife/Gwendolyn x Spouse! Reader

tw : mentions of drugging, kidnapping, and violent thoughts, eating out, and implied death. DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT!!

⭐️ request form

Your hands tightened on the steering wheel, the tears dribbled down you face. Your hands trembled, through the blurred vision at a nearby lamppost to ram into it and your eyes looked over to the passenger seat where Gwendolyn was peeling the apple with a small kitchen knife.

“Eat.” Gwendolyn offered one of the apple slices to you. “You tried to make our—my children call that partner of yours’ mother?”

The crunch of the apple slice tried to ease your overgrowth stress which Gwendolyn held her hand to the backseat despite the tension in their bodies— a thing she always did even before…before getting caught and shared the chocolates with you that she got from the children. A mother’s tax, she always said with that smile of her that always seemed genuine in the moment. You looked at the empty street that slowly morphed into the wooded area, the leaves were orange.

Your shoes sunk into the muddy area, pulling out the duffel bags from the backseat; one for each family member, minus your partner who is in the trunk of the car.

“What…what about—“

“Honey, someone will find them besides we need a camping day.” Gwendolyn put Janis’ hair in a ponytail despite Janis squirming and complaining. “Oh—hush, Jan. It’s not that tight.”

You watched the river rushing against the rocks, your hands ran through the soft hair of your son. Their fingers plugged their ears tightly as you tried to soothe their tension while the crashing from the empty cabin echoed causing the occasional birds flying in the sky.

Your shoulders tighten, you look up at her—Gwendolyn who’s slightly out of breath. You turned to her, dusting off the dirt and leaves that clung to the clothes. Your trembling hands held her face, wiping the blood from her face with a slight damp rag from your pocket.

Your heart felt as if it had escaped from your ribs, looking at the bedroom that your children shared in the cabin while you and her shared the pullout couch.

“But—but they’ll heard us?” You questioned.

“They won’t.” She pulled you onto the bed. “I gave them the right amount of—“

“You—Gwen.” You pulled away from her, slightly stumbling backwards. “You…you can’t just do that to them.”

“I wouldn’t take chances besides it’s not that lethal,” she reassured. “Honey, come on. It’s been a while since we’ve done things like this.”

Her hands remained on your hips, the flickering flames from the fireplace highlighted her features—was this your Gwen or was this a facade again?

“Your stuck in your head again?” She smiled. “Honey, you know I can fix—“

“Are���are you telling me the truth?” You asked.

“The truth?” She held your cheek, pulling you closer. “I love you, honey. You can make this right and all of my hatred towards you can be gone if you let me help you.”

It felt like she was your Gwen, your soft gasp escaped your lips as heat in your face bloomed in your face.

Her hands undid your clothes, her rough hands gripped the soft flesh of your thighs. You tried to cover your body with your hands as she peeled them off, her hands gripped yours pulling you closer. Your hands undid her clothes, soft kisses started. Her kisses remained the same but had a taste of bourbon—this was your Gwen...

“Gwen,” your lips breathed out her name.

“What is it, honey?” Her kisses continued. “Don’t get all flustered on me.”

“Please,” you pleaded, softly to her.

It was soft and slow. Felt as if it was meant to be while her hands pried you open to get rid of the touches that weren’t hers—it was like she said weeks ago that she was the only one that could love your skin while her hands tightened around your scalp while your hands held her thighs on your shoulders. Your kisses ran up her skin as this was her, the body that you loved all those years ago.

The morning made your head ache, a throbbing hammer knocked on your skull. You were half clothed, slipping on a blouse while you finally heard a chatter in the kitchen—something you haven’t heard in a long time.

You headed to the kitchen, rubbing your head and seeing Gwendolyn speaking to the ever-so chattering children and eating breakfast.

“You should sit,” Gwendolyn said. “We should try fishing today?”

[deluzional-simping-time]

✩₊˚.⋆ SUPER SELF-INDUGENT DAVID X READER FANFIC CAUSE I NEED HIM⋆⁺₊✩

The sun dipped below the horizon, casting hues of orange and pink across the sky, as you and David were rushing the campers back to bed, you found yourself stealing glances at David, the ever-optimistic camp counselor, who was stuck on asking you to take a stroll thru the woods after they all went to bed.

You had developed a crush on David since you arrived at Camp Campbell. His unwavering enthusiasm and infectious positivity were irresistible. naturally you had to say yes to this request to "take a small stroll around the forest!" as David put it.. Little did you know, David felt the same about you. He admired your intelligence, your wit, and the way you always lent a helping hand to take care of the campers.

Tonight, however, was different. As you got to the spot he wanted to show you, a small ledge with a campfire he lit a few minutes earlier you sat beside David, listening to his tales with rapt attention, the air between you seemed charged with an unspoken tension. His knee brushed against yours, sending shivers down your spine. You dared a glance at him, finding his gaze already fixed on you, his eyes filled with an intensity you couldn't ignore.

Lost in the moment, you leaned closer, drawn to him like a moth to a flame. David mirrored your actions, closing the distance between you until your lips met in a soft, tentative kiss. It was electric, sending waves of warmth coursing through your body.

But just as the kiss deepened, getting all sloppy and such, a voice shattered the intimacy. "What the fuck!?" Max exclaimed, standing behind, a mix of shock and amusement written on his face as he snapped a photo with a disposable camera of such.

You and David pulled apart, startled by the interruption. "Max!" you hissed, cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"Whoa, didn't mean to interrupt your little make-out session, jeez." Max smirked, crossing his arms. "And I just when thought Nikki was the one with no self-control! Look at you two!! you were really going at it!! Hah!!"

David's face turned a bright shade of red, matching the flames of the campfire. "M-Max, it's not what it looks like, Wait!" he stammered, trying to regain his composure.

"Sure, sure," Max said, rolling his eyes. "Whatever you say, lovebirds. But I'm definitely telling Gwen about this."

Panic flooded your senses as Max turned rushed off, leaving you and David alone once again. "What are we going to do?" you whispered, nerves tingling with anxiety.

David took a deep breath "Shoot."

You respond. "dammit. we are so cooked." you said, relaxing scooting closer to David

As the night wore on, a sense of unease lingered in the air, overshadowing the usual camaraderie of the campfire gatherings. You and David exchanged nervous glances, both dreading the inevitable confrontation with Gwen.

Finally, as the last embers of the fire began to fade, Gwen approached, her expression a mix of curiosity and concern. "Alright, spill it," she demanded, folding her arms across her chest. "What's going on with you two?"

Your heart raced as you and David exchanged a silent glance, silently agreeing to face the music together. "Gwen, it's not what it looks like," David began, his voice wavering slightly.

But before he could continue, Max interjected with his trademark sarcasm. "Oh, it's exactly what it looks like," he declared, waving what you could only assume to be the photo of you and David, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Lovebirds over here decided to have a little make-out session by the campfire."

Gwen's eyebrows shot up in surprise, her gaze flickering between you and David. "whoa, whoa, what!?" she asked, her tone more teasing-like now, tinged with a hint of amusement.

You nodded, feeling a flush of embarrassment creeping up your neck. "Yes, but it's not like we were doing anything wrong... technically.." you explained, your voice barely above a whisper.

Gwen sighed, shaking her head in disbelief. "Look, I get it. Camp can be a pretty intense place, and relationships happen," she said, her expression softening. "But just be careful, okay? We don't need any unnecessary drama around here."

You and David exchanged a relieved smile, grateful for Gwen not going off the rails. "Thanks, Gwen. We'll be more discreet from now on," David promised, winking at her squeezing your hand reassuringly.

With that, the tension that had been hanging over the campfire gathering seemed to dissipate, replaced by a sense of acceptance and understanding. As the night drew to a close, you and David found yourselves wrapped in each other's arms once again, the warmth of the campfire mirroring the warmth in your hearts.

And as you watched the stars twinkle overhead, you knew that no matter what challenges lay ahead, you would face them together, united in your love for each other.

[supertrxshwrites]

Close To You

Pairing: Jason Todd x female!reader

(so I wrote more of this little story I’ll post a second part but I just wanted to post since it had been a while. This is inspired by Amazing Spider-Man 2 when Gwen and Peter break up so ya :p)

“I need you to go.”

His tone was flat almost no trace of emotion but you could see the stress behind his eyes. Like something was eating him from the inside out and he couldn’t tell you about it, it felt like he was pushing you away as of late so hearing him say this out of nowhere sent an ache searing through your chest like a branding iron.

“ you need me to go? “ You said confused not sure where this is all coming from.

“Look y/n..it’s not safe here in Gotham..there’s always something. I think you’d be safer if you just moved away and-“

You cut him off not understanding why in the middle of your dinner date he pulled you outside to tell you to move away.

“Jason, what the hell are you talking about? There’s crime everywhere! I could move to Bludhaven, Star-city, Metropolis. It wouldn’t matter I wouldn’t be safe anywhere so what makes Gotham any different?!” Your eyebrows knit together as he looks at you, worry and frustration painted across his face.

His eyebrows furrow as he sighs closing his eyes and rubbing his hands down his face.

“I….we should…I-“

He stammers a bit and you can feel it coming and you don’t want to believe it.

“Jason please just talk to me-“

“I think we should break up.” His tone is cold as he stuffs his hands in his jacket pockets looking at the ground.

“W-what?” You say in disbelief. All the work you both have put into this relationship and now it’s Valentine’s Day and he’s breaking up with you like it’s nothing? Throwing it all away? Just like that with no explanation. Asking you to leave Gotham.

“Please just..I love you..y/n..” he sucks in deep breath his chest inflating as he does so, stepping closer to you, he cups your cheeks with both of his hands. His cologne wafting towards your nose mixed with the scent of mint gum.

“I love you so much that I’m giving you an out..t-to..leave Gotham and start somewhere new, somewhere safer. Please just listen to me.” He’s practically begging you to go but he won’t give you a real reason why other than Gotham being unsafe and how much crime has gone up, but you knew that about the city before you knew Jason.

“I’m not going anywhere and whatever this is isn’t going to make me leave.” You snap at him, your anger was at the surface and you wanted so hard to stay calm but he was pushing you away and it wasn’t helping that he just broke up with you.

“You know what..no..I break up with you.” You say jabbing a finger into his chest. It was hard for you to do but if this was how it was going to be at least you can say you broke it off.

That night you took an Uber home. Jason didn’t want to upset you more by arguing about so the least he could do was order it for you and make sure you in the car okay.

This was the start of Jason watching you.

Weeks had gone by since you broke up but he couldn’t bring himself to stay away. Being a vigilante he had to have the city’s best interest at heart, fight crime all that nonsense but you were more important. Sometimes when he’d be on patrol he’d kick himself for not telling you about his double life, but it was for your safety. He’d follow you to all your normal spots and he always made sure to camp on the rooftop across from your job the last few hours of your shift to make sure you were alright and then he’d follow you home on his bike trailing several cars away never letting you leave his sights. It was hard but he couldn’t live with himself if something happened to you. Sometimes when you went out you were a little dumb he’d watch you walk down an alleyway because “it was quicker than the street way” and tailing you would be some grimy asshole looking for a good time.

“Awe come on y/n you know better than this” he said to himself with a disappointed sigh as he climbed from his perch and followed the guy.

He’d watched the guy basically rub his hands together like a fly going after you and before you even thought about turning around Jason would take him out silently.

“Next time don’t follow people down an alleyway it’s so obvious..criminals just get dumber and dumber I fucking swear” he says leaving the guy unconscious as he follows you a bit on foot before climbing up to a roof top to watch you more.

It was hard but Gothams crime was at an all time high and watching you while he patrolled was the closest he could get while simultaneously keeping you safe.

Sometimes he knew he couldn’t be two places at once. Sometimes he knew he’d have to choose you or Gotham and it ate at him, knowing that your life could be dangling in the balance because he couldn’t keep you safe. He tried setting a boundary for himself that he’s to only follow you from work and back home, but some days he carves it out so that he watches you all day. Meeting up with friends, grabbing a bite to eat at some new restaurant, checking the mail. It didn’t matter where you were going as long as he could keep an eye on you.

He wanted so badly to come out of the shadows and be honest with you and give you the true reason for all of this, but he couldn’t risk it. If something happened to you..anything..he wouldn’t be able to live with himself.

[writerofadream]

Fortune favors the Bold ⛓

TDI!Duncan x Juvie Bestfriend! Reader ⛓

Epilogue: Lilly Tarun

You were waiting by the harbor, your leg swinging off the ledge you were perched on. You had just watched your boyfriend calmly walk off the dock back at camp, because Chef wanted him to go home, to go to you. That was the only reason he had been voted off in the first place.

By your estimations, your fiancé would be arriving very soon.

Anger was screaming in the back of your head, she knew that once he returned she’d be gone again. Quicker than a lost memory. She was telling you to get up, that you didn’t need anyone and you never needed anyone, she wanted you to grab your backpack, and start running. 

But your heart was aching.

All you wanted.

Was very close.

Suddenly, you saw it. The rickety boat, and unsurprisingly Duncan had thrown the Captain overboard as well, quite a while ago. Duncan was driving, you caught his eyes, and they were dark, sad, and dull. He docked the boat and stepped off, he didn’t know you were there yet. But that didn’t last very long. You let yourself fall off your ledge and onto the boardwalk and began running.

A smile broke on your face and you were whooping for joy. Before you could stop yourself, you launched yourself into a cartwheel which turned into a back handspring which ended with you flying on top of Duncan.

Anger was gone, you felt Duncan wrap his arms around you slowly, as if he didn’t believe you were there. “Am I imagining this?” He whispered his breath tickling your ear. “Mm, you tell me.” You smiled cheekily and landed a thousand kisses across his face causing a small smile to break onto him. “Hola mi vida.” He laughed and hugged you tighter, burrowing his face into your hair. 

“Can’t believe you lost.” You whisper-teased. But Duncan was silent, he had his hand on your stomach, and a shocked expression on his face. He had just felt the kick of Lily or James Tarun. You smiled fondly, you haven't had your period since your second to last night in camp, with Duncan.

“...Baby, are you pregnant?” He whispered and a smile landed on your face. 

“Duncan, you're gonna be a daddy.” You spoke quietly, holding a hand to his face, with a bright smile on your lips. Slowly, a huge smile appeared on your fiancè’s face and he picked you up, gently and twirled you around.

“I’M GOING TO BE A DADDY!”

Planning for the wedding was easy as pie. Probably because you let Courtney do mostly everything.

She was so excited the girl had been freaking out. She had Gwen stitch you a beautiful dark green wedding dress. It reached the floor and dragged behind you, it had gold sparkles on the hem, and you had flared sleeves which made you look as if you were floating, you wore gold heels, and simple makeup. 

You stared at yourself on the day of your wedding. “Are you sure it’s okay?” Gwen was super nervous. She hadn’t done stitch work in forever.

In all honesty it was fine, just a little long. There was exactly one hour until the ceremony began. All the girl campers were herded into the bridal suite trying to calm you down. You nodded and smiled softly. “It’s great, Gwen.” You smiled, but Eva disagreed. “You think it’s too long.” Her eyes flickered up and down your body. 

Gwen laughed.

“I figured that would happen. So when it’s time to dance, just tug at whatever size you’d prefer and the rest of the dress will come off easily, making it the perfect size.” Gwen explained. “I still think you should’ve worn the monkey outfit I bought you! You could’ve attracted a sasquatch.” Izzy complained and you smiled ruffling her hair in a motherly fashion.

Sadie clapped her hands together and jumped up and down excitedly. “You look so pretty.” Katie whispered, you squeezed her hand.

Each of your bridesmaids had their preferred color and dress style. Bridgette wore an ocean-blue cocktail dress, Leshawna wore a cream-colored wrap dress, Gwen wore a dark blue victorian-style dress, Sadie and Katie wore neon pink rompers with beautiful sleeves, Izzy wore a rainbow colored jumpsuit, Courtney wore a greenish-brownish criss-cross dress, Lindsay wore a crimson red sundress, and Eva wore a blue suit.

Bridgette came up to the mirror and you made eye contact through the glass. “Are you doing okay?” She mouthed. You nodded a watery smile playing on your face.

The entire group of girls awed and gave you a big bear-hug. 

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and Leshawna quickly opened it up, ready to yell at whatever boy it was this time. But instead it was your unofficial brother's girlfriends. “We thought she needed a hug.” Jasmine said with tears in her eyes, she was Leo’s girlfriend.

You all had a big group hug, with yourself in the middle.

“Remember, you have loved that idiot since you were born, right? You're perfect for each other.” Luna, Avery’s girlfriend, gave you a quick hug. It was five minutes till it was time. “Now this was forty dollars worth of makeup, do NOT make me cry,” The girl was fanning her face.

The rest of the bridesmaids did the same, all choking on their tears.

–

It was time. You sat at the end of the bridal train, holding your bouquet, your arm was linked with Chef’s. Who had a small smile on his face, and was biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself from crying. Izzy was in front of you, linked arms with Gwen. But just before it was time, Izzy turned around and walked quickly to you. 

“You have been more of a mother for me, then either of my parents ever had. I love you, and you deserve the world, mami.” The girl smiled watery and wrapped her arms around you. You choked on a sob. “I love you too, kiddo.” You hadn’t even realized it. But you already had a kid. Izzy Connelley, this freaky redhead, who you’d give anything for.

She quickly walked up to her spot with her arm intertwined with Gwen’s as the music began.

“Are you scared?” Chef asked, it was almost time for you to walk up. You thought for a moment.

“I’m not scared of a lot of things. He makes me fearless.” You said with a small nod. Chef smiled. This friendly, terrifying, angry, delinquent kid made him so excited for his little girls to grow up. 

He hoped they’d be just like you.

Then you stepped out into the shaded area, the wedding was covered by the trees. So you’d have some privacy. There were all the sane contestants back together again, in one area, for a wedding, and if people knew about that there’d be hordes and hordes of screaming fans.

You looked out at the people, with crooked smiles on their faces. 

You stifled a laugh as Leo flipped you off, which caused him to get punched by Avery, which caused them both to get punched by their partners. You felt your heart skip a beat once you saw your father standing by Duncan’s mom. After all these years it was still hard not to get mad at him, to not yell, but instead you just smiled.

Then you saw Duncan, who was staring at you with a dumbfounded expression. You waved slyly, and a light blush pulled itself on his cheeks. He wore a dark green suit and his typical hair. You finally reached the platform and stepped on, giving Chef a kiss on the cheek.

“You hurt her and I’ll be putting your butt in my next dish, got that, Tarun?” He ordered the boy, who gave him a mock salute with a cheeky smile.

“Can’t believe we’re getting married.” He mouthed. You both stood in front of each other as DJ spoke, he was the priest, and was going on about legacy currently. “I can.” You mouthed before winking. Duncan raised an eyebrow as DJ finally got onto vows.

The boy was still staring at you, so DJ had to hit him over the head with the bible causing Duncan to curse. “You said you wrote your vows, now say them, dude.” DJ shook his head, before turning to you. “You could’ve had any dude, girl.” He said, disbelieving, causing you to laugh.

“Y/N L/N, I’d choose you in a hundred lifetimes, a hundred words, in any version of reality I’d choose you. I’d find you, I’d choose you. I love the way your eyebrows crease when you're upset, I love the way you can juggle balls but not pens, I love the way you talk, the way you breathe, the way you live. I love you. I have loved you since I first met you. When I was younger, there was this girl who I adored, and whenever she laughed it was like a question, and all I wanted was the answer. That girl was you, it will always be you.” 

“Now it’s your turn, Y/N.” DJ pointed at you and you smiled squeezing Duncan’s hand. 

“Duncan Tarun, you are more me, then I am. Whatever our souls are made of, whatever is left of them, mine and yours are the same. I thought I was unworthy of love, because I was alone for a really long time, my dad was not in his mind, and no one talked to me. But there was you, my neighbor who I had been in love with since forever, you made me remember what it felt like, to feel, to breathe. The only reason I live the way I do, is because my bestfriend. Duncan Tarun, if I were to live a thousand lives, I would want to have you in each one. Because what good is a puzzle without her missing piece?” 

Both of you turned to look at Duncan’s brothers and shook your heads, nearly in sync. “How did we get married before you?” Duncan sighed. 

“Now, I pronounce you idiot and girl in love with idiot. You may kiss the bride.” DJ laughed as Duncan grabbed you, and covered your face in kisses.

The entire place erupted into cheers from everywhere. The brothers were screaming and doing whatever older brothers do, your parents were smiling, the bridesmaids were outright sobbing, Eva was looking at everyone awkwardly but smiling all the same, Izzy was whooping and swinging from light to light, the groomsmen were ruffling Duncan’s hair, and giving you fistbumps. 

Now it was time for the party.

It was amazing. Everything about it was so perfect. You watched fondly as Izzy tackled Lindsay effectively breaking her phone. Duncan’s favorite song was playing right now, and you and him were dancing together. Trent was in charge of being the DJ. Your messed up, ugly, beautiful, insane, crazy, calm, family danced until they were breathing heavily.

You were dancing with Lindsay, giggling about Heather when your father came up to you. His hair was turning gray, he was thin, and had permanent bags under his eyes. “Can I have this dance?” He held his hand out. “Is this your grandpa?” Lindsay murmured in your ear and you shooed her off. You stared at the hand, your heart pounding.

This wasn’t right, this wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

You did not invite your father because you wanted to forgive him, you invited him as a common courtesy. That did not mean you had to talk to him. 

Duncan came up from behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist kissing your neck, before realizing who was in front of you, and he paused, his body tensing with anger. “Mr. L/N, what do you want?” He said very quietly. “I want a dance with my daughter, who I have not seen in a very long time.” Your father replied. 

Duncan stepped in between you both and bent down a little to look you in the eyes. “¿Quieres bailar con él, vida mía?” Which roughly translates into, ‘do you want to dance with him, my life?’. You nodded curtly and Duncan stepped away squeezing your shoulders.

You began to dance with your father.

“You look so much like your mother.” Your father kissed your forehead, and you flinched away. His eyes softened. “Honey, you know why I sent you away. Duncan’s father made me.” He explained. That turned on a switch in your mind.

“All of my life, you have made excuses on why you left me to the wolves. Mom died when I was a child, and as far as I know, so did my dad. You barely talked to me growing up, you never fed me, you never even told me you love me. So stop making excuses, Miles.” You hissed. Your dad recoiled.

“I gave you every opportunity to succeed. You got sent to the best camps, and got the best training. Any trauma those camps caused only made you stronger.” He returned. Your anger was back and with a vengeance.

“I WAS SEVEN. THE ONLY THING SUPPOSED TO BE MAKING ME STRONGER WAS MILK.” You screamed, your vision was turning red. Suddenly there were arms around you.

Duncan’s arms were around your waist picking you up, even though you were screaming and kicking, and Duncan’s mom guided you off. The groomsmen escorted your father off the property and the bridesmaids all glared at him.

Duncan and his mom put you in a room and closed the door. You were fanning your face. “Lindsay spent five hours on this makeup, I swear if one tear-” You groaned. Artemis walked over to you, with a soft smile.

“Honey, my husband was not a very nice-man and I see that resemblance in your father. Grief makes people do crazy things.” She whispered. “That anger is why my son adores you.” Artemis laughed softly. She was always quite timid. “She’s right, you know.” Duncan was leaning against the door his arms crossed.

“This is supposed to be our day, Scorpion. Do not let anyone else get in the way of that.” Duncan sighed, walking over to you and wrapping you in a hug.

Artemis stared at you both. Her son, and her unofficial daughter. Two crazy kids in love. She knows that you will kiss away all of her son’s scars, and make him a little more whole each passing day. Because the way you look at Duncan only proves how much you love him.

—

As you all walked out, the bridesmaids flocked over to you. “Do you want me to give your daddy a whoopin 'cause I will,” Leshawna had a hand on her hip looking at you. You laughed. “It's alright.” Courtney raised a hand “Do you want me to drain his bank account?” she held up a computer which held his bank information… somehow..

“Guys, I’m fine. Now let’s get this wedding back on!”

—

Duncan and Izzy were having a drink off, Owen and DJ were talking with your brothers, Gwen and Trent were still DJing, the brothers gfs/bfs were watching their partners fondly, Courtney and Leshawna were dancing, Lindsay and Eva were taking pictures, Artemis was picking up, Chef and his wife were slow-dancing. 

You were holding your stomach, content with feeling the kicks of baby Lily Tarun.

Suddenly a very drunk Chris walked in the room. You stood up quickly, that embarrassed camper instinct still very there. But it was replaced with anger. You wanted to hit him again. You really wanted to hit him again.

Owen sat on Duncan before he could do anything, and Leshawna and Eva grabbed both of your arms. 

“Just let him be, Scorpion.” Eva whispered, and eventually the struggle stopped and they dropped your arms and Duncan pushed Owen off of him.

–

“I have this thing where I get older but never wiser.” Chris and Owen were drunk singing and you wanted to shoot your brains out. “This is torture,” You grumbled as Avery walked over to you. “Hey kid.” He smiled ruffling your hair. 

“Hey, loser.” You stuck your tongue out at Avery and he jokingly flicked it.

—

You watched as James took a camera off a place you didn’t know a camera was and you rolled your eyes. “Why is your brother spying on us?” You asked your head on Duncan’s shoulder. The green-haired boy shrugged. “He said he did it for the vine.” He took a sip of his whiskey and you had to resist grabbing it.

“One thing I miss is alcohol.” You grumbled, sniffing the cup longingly. Duncan laughed. “You see, you're an alcoholic, and I’m a drug addict. We’re a perfect pair.” that caused you to laugh. Duncan looked up and saw Leo yelling that it was time for a picture.

—

[Picture description:

You and Duncan were kissing, his arms around your waist and your arms around his neck, Bridgette was the only one looking at the camera, Geoff had an arm wrapped around her hip and was kissing the top of her head. Izzy was swinging from the headlights and fell mid-air, Owen was trying to catch her. Trent and Gwen were at the DJ stand looking at records, Eva had her arms crossed and was looking at the ceiling in annoyance, Leshawna was laughing and staring at Owen laughing, DJ was watering the bouquet in your hand, Lindsay had her eyes closed and was smiling, Courtney was shaking her head in exasperation, the brothers were wrestling, and their partners were taking shots of tequila, Chef had his daughters crawling up him and he was laughing, and Sadie and Katie were hugging clearly very happy.]

The camera pans out and it shows the picture framed, and in red ink has the words ‘Family’ with a small heart by it. The camera pans out further and you see it's in a bar, and in the corner the words ‘The Total Drama Bar’ and you see a man with green hair serving up drinks, and a pregnant lady walking down the stairs holding her daughter…

Lily Tarun. 

—

Bonus: 

Lily and James were searching in your bedroom looking for money. They found an old box that had the words ‘TDI’ on it. “Oi, James, look at this.” Lily ordered her younger brother who quickly walked over and sat on his knees beside his sister.

They opened up the box. Which was full of pictures. Their dad had green hair, which was odd. Grandpa Chef was in the pictures, as well as their aunts and uncles. Suddenly you walked into the room with a fond smile on your face.

“Okay troublemakers, who wants to hear the story about a place called Total Drama Island…” both of your kids raised their hands and came running to you as you sat on the bed holding the pictures.

“Now be warned kids, nothing about this story is false, but all of it is dangerous. It starts off in juvie, in a city far, far away…”

tagged: @lostsomewhereinthegarden

[helpfandom]

Update on list!

now also accepting Camp Camp! All children will be platonic, except for Pikeman, who can be romantic AS LONG AS READER IS THE SAME AGE.

[vikkirosko]

I saw you open your request again and I was reading your camp camp x reader who can read minds and I was wondering if this time with David and Gwen and on David's part maybe tries to get the reader's help to read Max's mind so he could understand him a little better and find a way to show Max that camp camp is a great place if it's okay with you

Platonic headcanons Mind Reader

🏕 David x kid!Reader 🌲

David always tried his best to find an approach to every camper in the camp. However, there was someone with whom he could not find contact all the time. Max. No matter how hard David tried, he couldn't make it so that he liked the camp. The solution to his problem came from where he was not expected. That decision was you and your mind-reading skill. David found out about your unusual ability by accident. He couldn't find this or that thing that Max had hidden several times, but he never talked about it out loud, and you told him exactly what he had lost and helped him find it. At first, David was sure that you were just a very attentive child, but you, confident that he had already realized that you had unusual abilities, admitted in a fit of panic that you could read minds

He was shocked by your revelation, because he did not expect this at all, but he was sure that you were telling the truth. Pretty quickly, David realized that your ability could help him find out what was going on in Max's head and make him start to like the camp. You strongly doubted that it was a good idea, but looking at David, who so sincerely wanted to make Max's stay at the camp more pleasant, you couldn't refuse him, but said that you weren't sure that his plan would succeed. David knew it himself, but he was willing to take the risk

You told him what Max was thinking, but his thoughts didn't help much. His thoughts were dark and rude, and none of the activities held at the camp made him happy. But after a whole day of trying to find out how to please Max, nothing has changed. It was only early in the morning that David woke up to the fact that you woke him up. As it turned out, you needed to have a serious conversation with him and this conversation couldn't wait. You went to a quiet place where you couldn't be overheard, and only there did you tell me that at night you read Max's thoughts until he fell asleep and they really bothered you. You told David how much it hurt him that his own parents treated him like that and practically threw him into the camp just not to see him and not waste time on him. Your story about this made David seriously worried, because now he understood better what was going on in Max's head and how hard it was for him, even though he did not admit it

After your story, David tried to treat Max more carefully. You convinced him that he didn't have to be too intrusive, because otherwise Max would push him away again, and David followed your advice. He sincerely tried to establish contact with him, albeit in a different way. He was grateful for your help and hoped that you could continue to help him, but David did not forget to help you. You were the same child as Max, you also needed care and attention, and David understood this perfectly well. He wasn't going to ignore any of the campers and was willing to help you with whatever was bothering you if you were willing to open up to him and tell him about your experiences

📖 Gwen x kid!Reader 💊

Gwen didn't believe that something magical existed in the real world. There could be anything in her fanfiction, but the real world was boring and ordinary. That's what she thought until she met you. You were one of the campers and, just like the other kids, you were weird, but your weirdness was a little scary. Sometimes it seemed like you were anticipating the thoughts of others. At first, Gwen thought it was just a coincidence, but the more often she noticed it, the more it bothered her. She decided to test this seemingly delusional theory, and began to remember one of the fanfiction she had written recently. When she saw how red your face was, she realized one thing. You could read minds

After a long conversation with you, you confirmed her suspicions. She wasn't going to tell the others about your secret, because she saw how nervous you were because she found out about everything, which means this topic worried you. However, now she had a way to influence others, because she could ask you to find out what the others were thinking. You didn't mind helping her a little, because spending time with her was better than with David, who was just glowing with enthusiasm, and Gwen allowed you not to participate in some events, justifying it by saying that you help her

She had a lot of questions about your abilities, but in all that time you never started talking about your past, where you got this mind-reading ability from, or how you ended up in the camp. She understood that this was a topic that was difficult for you and you didn't want to remember it. All she knew was that this secret couldn't be told to anyone. She treated you with the understanding and care that she was capable of, but you seemed to be glad even for that, as if there had never been anyone who cared about you before

Gwen was thinking that she needed to think about what was waiting for you when the summer was over. The rest of the children will need to return home, but she had a suspicion that you had nowhere to go back to, which means you had to come up with something. You helped her many times, which means she had to help you in some way so that at the beginning of autumn you would not be in trouble

[jadewolf22]

Welcome to the Pack: Chapter 1

Summary: Zombie apocalypse AU with Gwendoline Christie’s characters x fem!reader x OC Character (Beth) Featuring: Phasma, Brienne, Larissa, Gwen (in Fabric), Lyme (Hunger Games), Jane, Jan, & Lady Jane (The Darkest Minds) with mentions of Miranda and Anna (Welcome to Marwen) based off of this post by @rippersz

TW: Apocalyptic world (?), OC is hit by vehicle, strong language, mentions of death/killing, mentions of PTSD/Trauma, implications of smut, implications of poly-amorous hierarchy/ poly-amorous relationships involving nine people, wolf pack-like environment (reader is referred to as “Alpha”), ext…

A/n: I apologize for the amount of Russian and French in here. I have Russian heritage and wanted to pay a little tribute to that here (ended up being a lot more than a little) and also just felt like it would be a nice little tribute to some of the people on here who aren’t native English speakers. I hope to use more languages in other fics for this same purpose. Reader is American but was taught fluent Russian by a close friend of hers.

Word Count: 8,073

No one truly knows where the virus came from. Some say the Chinese created it, others the Russians, still others claim that it wasn’t created at all but rather an effect of global warming or some kind of solar flare. All anyone could truly agree on was that it was dangerous and deadly. The Serix Virus, as scientists later called it, was a physically transmitted disease that transformed the infected into zombie-like creatures that were unable to feel pain with half-decayed, green skin and bloodshot, yellow eyes; you could shoot one and it wouldn’t go down until a bullet found its head. 

Eurasia fell victim to it in the first month, with Africa and Australia not far behind. Three months later South America and Mexico followed. The survivors came flooding to North America, hoping for sanctuary, but none was received. Not even a month later the first cases were reported in North America and the rest of the world went to hell. People scrambled, turning on one another like gladiators in an arena. Fear took over and humanity crumbled, all in less than a year. Now, nearly three years later, the world remains black and dead. The “creatures” outnumber the human race twenty to one, if not more. They travel in packs just like most of the survivors-at least the survivors who were actually smart-shuffling through the remains of towns and cities, searching for their next meals of sweet human flesh; all too eager to taste blood in their mouths and skin in their teeth. To feast on people like Beth. 

Beth was a small town woman of 29 from Luray, Virginia and the lone survivor of her hometown. Everyone, her friends, her family, were gone, having either been eaten or transfigured and she was, permanently, on the run. With no weapons other than a little glock with only one full mag left and almost no remaining food Beth knew her time was almost up. She was no survivalist; she had no impressive background or knew any kind of self defense other than her fairly good aim, which would do nothing to save her when her mag ran empty. With her hope fading as the days went by, Beth moved to camp beside a road, her last chance to find salvation-to get help. 

She sat there on the side of the road for days, watching helplessly as the sun began to set at the end of her fourth day there and there was still no sign of help. Beth was about to give up and move on when something-a low rumble in the distance-caught her attention. She stood up and turned towards the sound, walking towards the curve in the road from where the noise was coming. It grew louder-the steady roar of a motor-and Beth’s heart leapt. She ran towards the curve, hoping to see the vehicle as it approached and catch the attention of its driver, but it was closer than she’d thought. 

A large black blur came speeding around the corner, clipping Beth’s right side and sending her flying backwards across the road. Beth screamed as pain radiated through her. Her arm was on fire, her head throbbed, the world was spinning, and her legs ached. She didn’t dare move for fear that something had been broken. 

Beth jumped a little when she heard car doors open and voices shouting at each other from inside the vehicle,

“-Are you out of your goddamn mind-?!”

“-Just leave her-!”

“-Not gonna leave her when it’s my fault! Now get your ass’s out there and help me!” 

Footsteps came running towards Beth, two blurry figures kneeling beside her. She couldn’t see much but well enough to know that they were both pale, one with long black hair, the other with short blonde hair. Together they lifted her, Beth screaming in pain as her body protested the movement. They carried her up into the vehicle-a black mini bus, and laid her down across the seats, which had been turned to create two long benches along either side of the bus, leaving a wide space between them for boxes of supplies. 

“Let’s go, let’s go!” a third person growled from the front of the bus as the other two took their seats, one person beside Beth and the other on the bench across from her.

Beth screamed as the bus jolted forward, grabbing hold of her arm as she began to slip in and out of consciousness from the pain. 

“Gwen, you get to explain this to the Alpha when we get back,” the voice from the front of the bus growled. It was deep and cold, mildly monotone with a clipped English accent and a slightly rough edge to it. Beth couldn’t see its owner but could guess that whoever it was was not someone to fuck around with, “She’s made it clear that outsider’s aren’t welcome-”

“You know what, Phasma, foutre en l'air! I didn’t ask for your damn opinion!” another voice, this one softer, more melodic, almost haunty with a soft English edge to it, snapped, a low growl tearing from the throat of its owner, “I’m sure she’ll understand my reasoning-”

“Not fucking likely,” the deeper voice grumbled as the vehicle shook and swayed, causing Beth to whimper every other minute, “Last time one of us brought someone back, Alpha turned him into crawler food real quick.” 

Crawler? Beth had heard the creatures called many things; flesh-eaters, zombies, the undead, but never Crawlers. The term was fitting, though. They did move at a crawling pace until they smelled food. 

“Last time we brought someone back, it was a man,” the softer voice countered, sounding annoyed, “Alpha made it clear no men were permitted in the camp, she’s had no problem bringing in women. What about Miran-?”

“Enough Gwen, you made your point.” a third voice cut in, a commanding edge to their tone. This voice was quiet, crisp, and rather gritty. There were hints of an accent to it, but Beth could not place where exactly it was from- somewhere in Europe, if she had to guess, based on its resemblance to the other two, “This is not our mess to deal with. When we get home we’ll hand her over to Jane and Gwen will explain what happened to Alpha. If she’s lucky, the Alpha will let her stay.” 

The other two grumbled in agreement, silence taking over the vehicle, allowing Beth to fully succumb to the hold of sleep. When she faded back to a semi consciousness, Beth was no longer in the bus but instead lying on some kind of cot, listening to a rather heated discussion between a large group of people,

“-Why would you bring her here?! We barely have enough food to go around as it is-!”

“Don’t try to pull one of those again. We all know there’s enough food here to last us years-!”

“That’s a rough estimate-!”

“It doesn’t matter if we have enough food or not! They’re injured, which makes them nothing but a hindrance to us! We should have left them where we found them-!”

“Not everyone here is as much of a hardass as you are, Phasma!! Forgive us for trying to have a little empathy-”

“Empathy isn’t going to help us survive!”

“Alright, доста́точно!!” Silence fell immediately. Beth didn’t know what the word ‘dostátočno’ meant, but it was clear that the others did, “That’s enough, all of you… While I appreciate the input, the decision is mine to make. Gwen… I want you to stay with her until she wakes up. When she does have Jane give her a quick lookover then bring her to me. We can figure out what to do from there… Everyone else просто позвольте этому быть. It’s not the end of the world-”

“No. That’s already happened…”

“Phasma, I don’t wanna hear another word out of you, Вы меня понимаете??!”

“... Yes, Alpha…”

“Thank you. Now, все возвращаются на работу…Phasma, Bri, I want that hole in the wall patched up by sundown.”

“We’re doing what we can, but there’s not enough materials to fortify it completely.”

“Then we’ll make another run, tomorrow. We cannot stand to let that wall have gaps in it. It’s too dangerous to-”

The rest of whatever the person had been saying faded away as Beth slipped back under sleep’s sweet spell. The second time she woke, Beth was fully conscious, opening her eyes for the first time in what felt like days. She was in some kind of large, stone room with high, intricately designed ceilings lying on what seemed to be an old-timey hospital bed. Her right arm was in a sling, both of her legs were wrapped in compression bandages from the knees down, and there was a thick gauze wrapping around her hairline. Every part of Beth’s body felt stiff, her broken arm felt full of pins and needles, and her head throbbed in time with her heartbeat. 

“It’s about time you woke up, petite souris,” came a voice to Beth’s left, causing her to jump. 

Beth looked over to see who the voice belonged to, and found her breath taken by the beauty across from her. The woman was tall and incredibly pale, possessing a slender yet shapely figure, with graceful curves and a lustrous cascade of dyed black waves that fell in loose tendrils around her shoulders, framing her face like a dark halo. Her hair had a glossy sheen that caught the light streaming from the nearby windows, imbuing her with an almost supernatural radiance and her lips were full and painted with a deep, velvety shade of red. Steel blue eyes watched Beth closely, framed by thick lines of black eyeliner. She wore a fitted shirt with a black and white checkered pattern and with sheer, flared sleeves as well as black leather pants, a black choker and black, knee-high combat boots. There were two Ruger LCP’s holstered in a belt at her hips and an N4 short barreled rifle resting in her lap, her finger lying lazily over the trigger. 

“Where am I?” Beth asked, wincing as she fought her way up to a sitting position.

“Home, for now, petite souris.” The woman purred in French and Beth recognized her soft, melodic, almost haunty voice with its soft English edge. She was one of the women from the bus, “Unless the Alpha decides otherwise.”

“The Alpha?” Beth repeated, her brows furrowing in confusion. What kind of fucked up cult had she gotten herself into? “Who the fuck is The Alpha?”

“She’s our leader,” the woman explained, her voice hardening slightly at Beth’s confused, almost humored tone, “Our chef de file. The one who keeps us safe from those things crawling around outside… If you’re going to stay with us, you will need to learn to respect her, petite souris. Or she’ll throw you to the crawlers without a second glance.”

“Right… How long have I been here?” 

“About a day-”

“Gwen, you were supposed to come and get me when she woke!”

Beth and the woman-Gwen, jumped in surprise, turning to see another woman walking their way. This woman was about the same height as Gwen, Beth assumed, if not half an inch or so taller, with soft alabaster skin, and a mane of natural raven hair pinned up into some sort of plaited crown around her head. She had a wiry, haunting figure with a regal bearing about her and a rigid posture, conveying an air of authority and severity. Her angular jawline and high cheekbones contributed to that sense of severity, while her piercing sky blue eyes seemed to scrutinize everything with an unwavering gaze. The woman’s face was free of makeup, but by far no less beautiful than Gwen’s, with a small scar adorning her upper lip; something she must have sustained before the virus. She was dressed in a black linen dress that brushed against her mid-thigh with tight sleeves, accessorized with a black and silver corset as well as black leggings and black knee-high boots. Fitting for a post-apocalyptic world yet still fashionable.

“Ouais, peu importe, salope.” Gwen muttered under her breath, giving the second woman a dark look, “She just woke up, Jane. Give me a little slack.”

“Alpha’s orders.” was all the other woman “Jane” responded, her voice cold with a cutting edge to it and a heavy English accent, turning her attention to Beth, “Consider yourself one lucky woman. It’s a rare thing for someone to be hit by a bus and walk away with only a broken arm, a minor laceration, and a few bruises.”

“Tell that to my aching joints.” Beth grumbled. 

“Would you rather I say it to your corpse?” Jane asked, her tone anything but sarcastic. Clearly she was a ‘no-nonsense’ type of woman, “Up! I need to see you move.” 

Groaning internally, Beth swung her legs off the cot and planted her feet firmly on the cold floor, hissing as her joints protested against her movements. She could feel both pairs of eyes on her, sweat gathering at the base of her neck as Beth pushed off the bed with her good arm, standing on wobbly legs. Jane had her walking back and forth along the edge of the bed for several minutes before having Beth try a few stretches that would, hopefully, help to relax the muscles in her legs. 

“That’s as good as you’re going to get for now,” Jane said after a time, rewrapping Beth’s legs after inspecting the swelling, “I’m sure the Alpha’s getting impatient. She’s up on the balcony taking a smoke.” she addressed to Gwen, an indifferent look in her light, sharp eyes.

“Think you can handle stairs, petite souris?” Gwen asked, directing her attention at Beth and ignoring Jane as the imposing figure walked away.

“Do I have much of a choice?” Beth returned. Gwen shrugged, turning on her heel and heading out after Jane with Beth hobbling along behind her. 

Beth couldn’t help but look around in awe as she followed Gwen. They were in some kind of gothic mansion, with tall stone walls and ceilings decorated with intricate patterns, statues and paintings, as well as mahogany accents in the doors and stairway railings. Clearly, this place had been some kind of retreat or something for those who basked in wealth. Everything was well constructed and detailed, too nice for something people of a lower class would have had the privilege of seeing. 

With a little help from Gwen, Beth managed to make it up to the second floor of the building, hoping and praying that “the Alpha” was not on any of the upper floors. There was no way her legs were going to be able to make it up another flight. Relief filled Beth when Gwen began to lead her down a long hallway, away from the stairs. They passed many rooms, most of which were empty, but as they walked past one of the rooms on the far end of the hall, Beth caught a glimpse of a woman standing over a table inside but didn’t have time for a proper look before Gwen drew her attention away. 

“She’ll be in here.” Gwen said, placing her hand on the doorknob of a large mahogany door at the very end of the hall. There was a golden plaque nailed to it which read “Principal Weems”. Apparently, this place had been some kind of school, “Whatever you do, petite souris, don’t speak unless you’re spoken to. And, if you want to have any chance of staying or staying alive, be respectful. If there’s one thing Alpha can’t stand, it’s someone who can’t respect their superiors, comprendre?”

Beth nodded, able to loosely translate the french word. The corner of Gwen’s lips twitched upward in a light smirk before her face went void of expression and she opened the door, beaconing Beth to follow her inside. The room was massive, with well used leather furniture and a large mahogany desk in front of a set of open french doors which led out to a spacious balcony. There was a large marble fireplace to the left of the doorway, carved to look like… medusa? At first the room smelled faintly of wine and must, and then a gentle breeze blew the scent of cigar smoke in through the open balcony doors, drawing Beth’s attention to the figure leaning against the stone railing of the balcony, facing in towards the room; You. 

Beth didn’t know what she’d expected from someone who called themselves “the Alpha” but whatever it was was not what you were. When she and Gwen reached you and you rose to your full height you towerd over both of them like a fucking skyscraper with a broad, maculine body complete with soft ivory skin, thick meaty hands, prominent veins, and muscles that might as well have been chisled from stone. Short red hair cut in a 90’s bob framed a sharply defined, oval face allowing your deep green eyes with their frightful and unnerving gaze to stand to attention. You wore a loose-fitting bronze t-shirt tucked into black jeans decorated with custom-sewn pockets all down the legs with a brown and black flannel tied around your waist, a gold watch on your wrist glinted off the dying sunlight, and black, knee-high combat boots similar to Gwen’s adorned your feet; though yours had to be at least three sizes bigger. There were two Glock 19’s in a holster around your waist, a semi-auto .22LR slung across your back, and a knife as long as Beth’s forearm in a vertical sheath across the back of your holster; the many pockets of your jeans bulging with mags for the three guns.

“Give us a moment, would you малыш,” you addressed to Gwen, taking a long drag from the joint between your fingers, continuing to speak as you released the smoke from your lips, your voice silky yet harsh with a tough, demanding and authoritative tone that matched the rest of your persona perfectly, “Why don’t you go see if you can help Jan with the mending? I’m sure she could use a second pair of hands. If not, tell Jane I told you to help her with supper.” 

Gwen gave a small nod, turning and walking away without so much as a glance in Beth’s direction. Beth had caught the Russian word for ‘baby’ and realized that it was you who had been speaking the language earlier despite having a flawless American accent whenever you weren’t using Russian dialect. 

“So, маленькая полевая мышь, I hear one of my girls hit you with the bus?” you spoke softly, eyeing Beth like someone would a confused child, “Tell me… why should I let you stay, hmm? What can you offer us?” 

“I…” Beth paused, unsure how best to respond. She didn’t know what words would save her life and what words would end it, “I-I’m a fair shooter. I can hit a perfect bullseye four of five times-”

You chuckled, drawing her up short, “маленькая полевая мышь, I have four women who can hit a bullseye five times out of five shots. What need would I have of your skill when I already have others who are better at it?” 

“I’m a forager.” she tried again, “I know what plants around here are safest to eat, which ones can be used as medicine, and which ones can end a life-”

Again, you cut her off, “And I have a woman who has a master’s degree in medicine and herbology.” 

Damn it. 

“I…” Beth was defeated. Shooting and foraging were her only helpful skills and you were right. What need would you have of her if there were already those who could do it better? “Those are the only things I can offer you…”

“Poor маленькая полевая мышь,” you purred with a small smile on your lips. You seemed to be enjoying watching Beth as she began to panic, “If you have nothing to offer me, why should I let you stay, hmm?” 

“Please?!” she begged, ready to fall on her knees and plead at your feet, “I-I don’t need to stay forever. Just long enough to heal-Please-!”

“There is no need to beg, полевая мышь.” a low chuckle escaped your throat, sending a shiver down the back of Beth’s neck, “You are lucky Gwen seems to have taken a liking to you. If not for her, I would feed you to the crawlers… You may stay with us until you heal but, while you are here, you will conform to my rules. Break or refuse to follow one and I will cast you out with only the clothes on your back. Do you understand?”

“Y-yes… ma’am…” Beth mumbled, looking down at your feet.

“Good,” you purred again, your lips pulled up in a tight, almost fake smile, “Why don’t you come inside and take a seat while I go over the rules with you, hmm? I’m sure your legs must be killing you for standing for so long. When we’re done, I’ll give you a proper tour and introduce you to everyone.”

Beth nodded, her body visibly relaxing in relief as she followed you back inside. You sat down in the chair behind the desk, motioning for Beth to take one of the leather seats across from you. 

“So,” you started as Beth sat down, looking down at her hands resting in her lap, “let’s get to it…?”

“Beth,” she answered when she realized you were silently asking for her name.

“Beth. Welcome to our little pack. I am y/n, but you will refer to me as Alpha. Calling me by my name is a privilege that must be earned. Is that understood?” “Yes.”

“Good. Now, in order to keep everyone safe and keep our pack from falling apart, I have set a few rules in place. Failure to conform to these rules will result in your immediate removal from the pack. Get caught breaking a rule and you will be punished accordingly.”

“Yes, Alpha.” Beth muttered, her eyes still trained on her hands. 

“Look at me when I’m talking to you, милый,” you reprimanded, smirking when Beth’s gaze shot up to your face, “Good. Now, our rules. One; you will obey every command I give you without question or complaint. As the alpha, it is my job to ensure that the pack remains safe. You must trust that my actions and commands are made with this in mind. Two; you must return to camp by nightfall every night and are not permitted to leave again until sunrise. Crawlers are most active at night, that is when we need to be the least active. Three; never leave the camp alone. Always in groups of three or more. Four; if you are injured, whether by a crawler or something else, you must tell someone. You cannot expect us to treat you as if you are injured if we do not know that you are. Am I clear so far?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“хорошая девочка. Rule five; in order to ensure that we have enough water for drinking and cooking, each of us are only permitted to use the showers three times a week unless given verbal permission from me. Six; everyone must use the gym at least two times a week. We need to keep our strength up. Once you heal enough I will have you working with one of my girls to build your muscles back up. Seven; never keep helpful supplies hidden for yourself. We share everything of great value with the pack. Less important things like jewelry and perfumes and such are fine. We have no severe need for them.”

“Yes, Alpha.” Beth repeated again, showing that she was still listening.

“Number eight; don’t bring men into the camp. They cannot be trusted, nor will I pretend to tolerate them. Nine; do not ever turn off the safety feature on your weapon. It must always be ready should another group attempt to raid us or a horde of crawlers find its way through our defenses. This also means that you must be extremely careful. No one has accidentally shot someone yet, but we have had one too many close calls in recent months. And finally, ten-this rule will not apply to you without my explicit permission which you are highly unlikely to receive; do not touch another one of the girls in an intimate sense without verbal permission from both the woman and myself. As the alpha, it is my job to attend to the needs of my pack, whether that be physical, mental, sexual, or otherwise. The others know they are not to touch themselves or each other without my permission and the same goes for you.”

A mildly disgusted look overtook Beth’s face as the realization of your words sunk in. You were fucking all of them?!

“Don’t worry, полевая мышь,” you laughed, the sound harsh and rich, “I have no intentions of mating with you. You are not a permanent part of the pack, not like my girls.” 

“Is that how you became the alpha?” Beth asked before she could stop herself, “By fucking the rest of them into submission?” 

A dark shadow filled your eye as a bemused look crossed your face. You leaned forward, resting your elbows on the desk as you eyed Beth, running your tongue against the inside of your bottom lip.

“I’ll give you one pass since you are new, but if you ever speak to me like that again I will gut you. Do you understand, полевая мышь?” you hissed, your smile widening when Beth nodded, “Yes, мышь, that is how I became the alpha. Before me, it was the principal of this school. Fuck the right people in the right ways and they’ll give up everything to you… But don’t let that fool you into thinking I only fuck them to keep my position, oh no, I fuck them because I truely love them, and will do whatever I can to make them forget about what goes on outside these walls, even if it’s just for a night.”

Beth nodded again, her mind still reeling as it tried to process everything you had just told her.

“So, now that you know our rules and how our pack operates, would you like to stay? If not, we’ll give you back your things and send you on our way.” 

She didn’t know what to say. Beth knew leaving now would inevitably result in her death, yet she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to stay here. You were incredibly fucked up in the head, that was for certain. However, you did genuinely seem to mean what you said about protecting your ‘pack’. As much as Beth didn’t like either option, she ultimately decided that a month or so with you was better than being eaten alive by crawlers in a night. 

“I’ll stay.” she muttered, “And I’ll do whatever I can to be of help while I’m here.”

“Good,” you cooed, clasping your hands together with another tight smile as you rose to your feet, “Come, let’s get you familiar with the camp and properly introduced to everyone, shall we?”

Beth nodded, pushing off of the chair, her legs shaking as she stood. You waited a moment, giving her legs a moment to adjust to carrying her weight again before you strode out of the room, walking slowly so that Beth could keep pace. 

“This is our command center,” you said, leading her inside one of the rooms she’d passed earlier, “In here we keep our main radio as well as our maps, supply lists, and other things of that sort. And this is Larissa.” 

The woman-Larissa looked up from the map she’d been studying and offered Beth a soft smile that had her weak in the knees. Like the others Beth had met, Larissa was tall. Taller than Gwen but not by much, with silvery-blonde hair done up in a complex updo half hidden in a silver headscarf, a shapely, feminine figure dressed in white pants and a silver blouse accentuated with a thick brown belt and brown ankle boots, skin like a porcelain dolls, and long-fingered hands tucked into white gloves. Her eyes were a brilliant, sapphire blue framed by thick mascara-coated lashes and her lips were soft-looking and full, stained a deep ruby red in color. 

She was prestigious and well put together, seeming almost out of place in the modern world. Too gentle, too clean, too pure. But something was off. There was a weary look on her heart-shaped face as she eyed Beth, as well as a sense of falseness to her smile. To Beth, it seemed as if the woman was afraid, But afraid of what? You? Beth? 

“Larissa, сладкий голубь, this is Beth,” you announced, smiling gently at Larissa, a comforting gleam in your eye, “She’ll be staying with us for a while.”

“You’re letting her stay?” Larissa questioned, her voice velvety and melodic, yet there was something enigmatic about it…

“Only because I don’t want to hear Gwen’s pouting for months.” you teased, momentarily drawing a true smile from the woman before it turned false again.

“I suppose that’s as good a reason as any,” the blonde concured, eyeing Beth again before returning her focus to the map on the table as you strode back out of the room, beaconing Beth to follow. 

“You’ll have to excuse her demeanor. Larissa is not one to trust easily.” you said to Beth as the two of you descended down the stairs, “It will take her some time to warm up to you.”

Beth nodded, half-listening as you went on to tell her about what the school had been before the virus, following you into what at one point had been the school’s cafeteria. All of the tables but one were gone, leaving space for eight beds set in a circle in the middle of the room. There were hospital curtains on the sides and in front of each of the beds, allowing for some separation and privacy, though not very much. Also beside each bed was a small stand, on top of which lay an array of objects; hair brushes and hair ties, makeup products, jewelry, photographs, knives, gun magazines, notebooks, books, ect. Then at the foot of each bed was some kind of trunk Beth assumed was for storing larger possessions and clothing. 

There was a large, clearly handmade, circular stone fireplace in the center of the circle of beds, surrounded by an array of well-used, mismatched chairs. Very homey, Beth thought, a sudden wave of homesickness overtaking her. It had been so long since she’d seen anything that even remotely resembled a normal home. 

“This is our sleeping quarters and-for want of a better word-dining hall. We eat and sleep here as well as simply lounge around after curfew. I’ll have the twins help me bring down a cot for you later… My room is just past that door.” you pointed to a mahogany door on the far wall, not too far from the circle of beds but far enough to make it very clear you were separate from the others, “Should you need anything during the night or notice something off while you’re on watch, just knock. I’m a light sleeper.”

Beth nodded again. She wanted to make a comment about you sleeping separate from everyone else but that unnerving glint in your eye kept her at bay. You moved on, showing her the infirmary, makeshift gym, bathrooms and showers. 

“How do you have running water?” She inquired as the two of you made your way outside. Without humans to run things, places like power plants, dams and such had ceased working. Very few places still had electricity and water, none of which were anywhere near your camp. 

“We were able to create our own water system by connecting the plumbing to a river a ways up the mountain. By connecting it to a filtering system, we were able to obtain clean water for drinking and cooking.” you explained, “In order to do that we had to first shut off and drain the preexisting system, remove and close off several pipes from the upper floors, making it so that the plumbing would only run through the ground floor-not that we needed it for much else.” 

“And the electricity?”

“Solar power. We raided a solar power plant not far from here about a year and a half ago and figured out how to use the panels we’d taken to power everything here, including the bus one of my girls hit you with.” you said, stepping outside.

The area you’d taken her to was a courtyard at what appeared to be the center of the mansion. Most of it was made of the same stone as the inside, the other part of a thick wrought iron fence, both of which were decorated with beautiful scrollwork designs. Intricate arches lead off to other parts of the school, while thin cobblestone paths weaved through the grass, which was luscious and oh so green compared to the rest of the world. Several tarps had been stitched together and hung over the entire courtyard, protecting it from the rain and sun. Stone benches lined the courtyard’s edge, there were several tables littered with supplies off to one side, as well as a makeshift shooting range, and a large sparring mat staked to the ground with tent spikes, where two more women were currently occupied. 

The women on the mat were both broad and muscular, though the one facing away from the two of you had a much more haunty feel to her figure. Her short, snowy-white hair was slick with sweat and brushed against the nape of her neck. 

“Phasma, lower your hands!” you shouted, causing Beth to jump, “You’re leaving your ribs exposed! Brienne, widen your stance! If she pushes you, you’re done for!”

The two paused, unfolding from their fighting stances and turning to you, Beth unable to keep her jaw from dropping when she caught sight of-who she assumed was Phasma-'s face. The woman was tall, standing about two inches shorter than you, and had a square face and prominent jaw with a clearly broken nose. A single icy blue eye glared at Beth coldly, the left side of her face marred by a burn scar accentuated with a pearly white eye; clearly the injury had left her blind. Intimidated by her gaze, Beth dropped her eyes to the rest of Phasma’s body. A ripped gray shirt clung to her broad chest and shoulders like a second skin, green cargo pants covered her legs, showing off the muscles there when she flexed them just right. When she shifted her stance a light clinking filled the air, drawing Beth’s attention to the chain of military tags around her neck. 

“Come on ladies, you would think I wouldn’t need to tell you these sorts of things with your track records.” you scolded lightly as they approached you.

“Sorry, Alpha,” they muttered in unison, giving Beth a chance to look at the other one while their attention was trained on you.

The other woman was just as tall as Phasma, with the same square face and chiseled jaw, though her hair reached her shoulders and was the color of straw rather than snow. She had the same small, blue, almond-shaped eyes but hers were darker, more like the ocean, as well as the same porcelain skin. There was a large scar on her cheek; it looked rather like a human-made bite mark. It must have been something she sustained before the virus or she would not have been amongst the “living” now. The woman wore a dark blue tank top that showed off her pale, freckled shoulders tucked into brown cargo pants belted with a thick black belt around her broad hips. Both women were barefoot with linen strips wrapped around their hands, raw pink flesh peeking from beneath the strips. 

“You’ve already met Phasma… in a sense,” you said to Beth, drawing her from her thoughts as you pointed to the one-eyed woman-Phasma, “This is her twin sister, Brienne. Ladies, this is Beth. She’s going to be staying with us for a while.”

It was easy to note the similarities between the two sisters. As well as being similar in appearance the two women had the same posture and ora, and the exact same look on their faces as they eyed Beth like she was merely a piece of meat.

“You’re letting the rat stay?” Phasma practically growled, her voice deep and cold, mildly monotone with a clipped English accent and a slightly rough edge-the bus driver! Realizing Phasma was the one who’d hit her with the bus, Beth narrowed her eyes at the woman, shifting her stance ever so slightly in an attempt to appear stronger and more confident, though the bandages and sling did little to assist her, “Why?”

“Because, Phasma, I don’t think you want to hear Gwen whining for the next few months because we didn’t help her little field mouse any more than I do.” you answered, your voice firm and assertive, causing the frightful-looking blonde to go silent. 

“Alpha,” the other sister-Brienne, stepped forward slightly. Her voice was gravelly and had a natural stentorian and authoritative feel to it, but when she spoke to you it was in the most submissive and respectful way, “our resources are spread thin as it is. Taking on another member… it is not something we can afford…”

“I understand your concerns, Brienne. Believe me, the thought has crossed my mind, but we will make it work.” you assured, “You both know I would never do anything without fully thinking it through-”

“If you had, the runt’s corpse would be halfway up the mountain by now.” Phasma muttered, crossing her arms over her chest, her sister going white beside her as you flushed scarlet.

“Phasma, то есть достаточно!” you roared, raising your hand as if to strike her before lowering it again with a deep breath, “As of now, Beth is a part of our pack. You will treat her with the same respect as the others… And if you ever speak to me like that again, you will be sleeping outside the walls. Is that understood?” The woman merely shrugged, cracking her knuckles as she shifted her gaze to Beth, the one blue eye narrowed dangerously. You sighed, clearly annoyed with the woman’s behavior. 

“Finish your match,” you told them, “Once you’re done go ahead and begin evening procedures. I suspect Jane will have supper ready here soon.”

Phasma shrugged again, her gaze never leaving Beth, causing sweat to form at the base of her neck. Brienne put a hand on her sister’s shoulder, whispering something in her ear that caused Phasma to scoff, roughly shoving her sister away and turning and walking back onto the mat. Brienne shot you an apologetic look, nodding at you before following after her twin, ignoring Beth entirely.

“Ignore them,” you said to Beth, turning away from the sisters, “The twins have always been wound rather tightly, especially Phasma. Give them their space and they’ll give you yours. Just, whatever you do, try not to piss them off… If you couldn’t tell, they’re not afraid to break a couple of bones.” 

“What happened to them?” you looked down at her, your head slightly tilted in question, “The scars…?”

“Those are stories for another time,” you said dismissively, moving towards the cluster of picnic tables where two figures were conversing on one of the benches along the edge of the yard, “Lyme, познакомься с нашим гостем!” you called as you and Beth approached the two.

The woman you’d addressed-Lyme stood up from her spot on one of the stone benches as you and Beth approached, Beth unable to keep from ogling at the goddess before her. The woman towerd over Beth, standing just shorter than the twins with a muscular and powerful, yet curvy build that suggested years of some kind of combative experience and flawless, ivory skin. Her face was strong and angular, free of makeup with chiseled features that conveyed determination and resilience, and eyes like pools of silver that had Beth struggling to breathe. Her dirty blonde hair was cut in a short, stylish pixie cut that kept it out of her face at all times. There was an air of confidence and authority to her, exuding a sense of quiet power and strength. She was dressed in a dingy white tank top that hugged every curve, dark acid wash jeans, a bloodstained jean jacket, a long silver chain hanging around her neck, and gray boots. There was a large AK-47 slung across her back and two knives sheathed at her hips. 

The woman beside Lyme was a few inches shorter than her companion with that same authoritative presence and long, silky brown hair tied back in a low ponytail. She had flawless, sun-kissed skin, a strong, lean and almost cat-like figure and a soft round face void of makeup and splattered with the lightest freckles Beth had ever seen, accentuated with small, dusty blue eyes. There were several small tattoos on her fingers and more poking out from beneath the sleeves of her brown shirt which she’d paired with military-style pants and brown boots, accessorized with a western-style leather holster that housed a silver Glock 17. Her jaw was clenched tightly, and her eyes were narrowed as she eyed Beth up and down, stopping both ways when her eyes reached the sling around Beth’s arm, seeming to size her up. Clearly, she was as keen on having an injured stranger in their midst as Phasma and Brienne were.  

“Beth, this is Lyme and Lady-” you introduced, gesturing to each woman as you said their name. 

“Lady?” Beth asked, releasing a breathy laugh at the odd name which she instantly regretted when the brunette gave her a dangerous look that would have had Beth six feet under if looks were able to kill.  

“Her real name is Jane, but we call her Lady to keep from confusing her with our other Jane.” you explained, stepping slightly in front of Beth as Lady’s hand twitched towards her Glock, “Lady, оставь пистолет в покое.”  

The brunette grumbled, folding her arms across her chest as you gently steered Beth away from the two women.  

“I’d watch your back around her,” you warned, “She’s the wild card around here. I wouldn’t be surprised if she tries to use you as target practice... At least for the first week or so.” 

“Don’t think she’s the only one.” Beth mumbled, eyeing the twins sparring on the mat with a worried glint in her eye. 

“Phasma and Brienne may want to put a bullet in your head, but they’d do it with good intentions-at least, Brienne would… You must understand, we haven’t had a new member in over a year and, well... it didn’t end well.” 

“What happened?”  

“...She died...” you answered, your voice soft, “We were all close with her, and her death shook us quite a bit. In truth, I think the others don’t want you here because they’re afraid of having that attachment again.” 

You went silent for a few moments after that, leading Beth away. She longed to press, to learn what had happened, but it was clearly a touchy subject and she dreaded what would happen if she pushed too far. If she was being entirely honest with herself, Beth was afraid of you. Everything she’d heard, everything she’d seen gave her the impression that, though some of the others in your ‘pack’ were scary, you were the only one who she needed to be terrified of. Your authoritative demeanor, your commanding presence, the unnerving glint in your eye, the harsh edge to your voice all pointed to one simple fact; you were dangerous. In what way exactly, Beth did not know, but she was in no hurry to find out. 

You lead her back inside to a new area of the first floor and into a room piled high with boxes of supplies and racks of clothing categorized by the item and sizes. She followed you through the maze of racks to the back of the room to where a figure was sitting, pointing as you spoke. 

“Jan is who you will go to tomorrow to get fitted for proper clothing. Not only does she have the best sense of fashion, but whatever we don’t have, she can make. She’s quite handy with a needle and some thread.”

The woman you pointed to was like an angel in mortal form with a lean, angular body and pure white skin. A halo of platinum blonde hair fell to the base of her neck in waves framing a sharp, heart-shaped face with blood-red lips and dark eyeshadow with thick black eyeliner that accentuated cerulean blue eyes. Her black, five-inch platform boots seemed a little out of place given the world’s current predicament, but looked quite good with the flared red pants and ruffled white blouse. There was a box of clothing at her feet and a pincushion and several spools of thread on the desk beside her while she methodically stitched away at a shirt laying in her lap. 

“Jan, мой павлин,” you practically cooed, drawing the angel’s attention away from her work, “Why don’t you put the mending away for a while and come meet our guest?”

Jan nodded, gently placing her work on the desk as she stood, her eyes flicking over Beth. Unlike the others, her gaze wasn’t disapproving or judgmental, but rather curious and intrigued. She walked closer, flicking her eyes between you and Beth as she drew near. Even with those boots on she was still an inch or so shorter than you, and as she came to a stop in front of Beth a sweet mixture of warm vanilla and cherry scents filled Beth’s nose.

“I’m Beth.” she offered, holding out her hand to the beauty standing before her, “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Jan murmured, taking Beth’s hand in a dainty handshake. Her voice was like a breath of wind, angelic, crisp, and oh so silky. It would have been all too easy for Beth to get lost in its sweet spell. The woman’s skin was like satin against Beth’s coarse hands, deep ruby nails standing out against the pale flesh. 

Beth went to say something, what exactly she was not sure, but the loud, deep ring of a bell cut her off. She released Jan’s hand, looking to you for an explanation as to what the bell was for. 

“That’ll be the dinner bell,” you said to Beth, though your eyes were trained on Jan. To Beth, it seemed that you favored the platinum angel over the rest of your packmates, “Best we head to the dinning hall before Jane or Larissa have our heads for being late.” 

Jan nodded, turning off the lamp beside the desk she’d been using before taking hold of your arm as you led her and Beth back out of the room. The three of you joined the others in the dining hall where you did a quick check to make sure everyone was accounted for, scowling when you noticed one member was missing.

“Where’s Phasma?” you half growled to Brienne, your eyes narrowed in annoyance.

“She went to put the bus away,” Brienne shrugged, “Best bet is she’s still in the garage.”

You sighed, rubbing your temple before muttering, “You lot go ahead and get started. I’ll run out and grab her.” 

You left without another word, leaving Beth alone with the remaining seven members of your pack. She stood back, staying out of the way while the others lined up to get food much like you would in a school cafetorium-which they were currently in-unable to keep her eyes from glancing over the strong, shapely figures standing about ten feet from her. As much as she wished to deny it, Beth could see why you would find it hard to choose only one of the women here; she was caught in the claws of these beauties… and no force on Earth would save her if she woke the beast…

A/n: This is the first fanfic I've written that was over 1,000 words so I apologize if it drags a little at times. Pt.2 should be released in a few weeks. Hope you enjoyed!! :)

[tdinyomomma]

Not Quite Famous- TDI X Reader (Chapter Five)

If You Haven’t Read: Four

"Okay, this is so-way-beyond bad. I'm out of fake tanner already." Lindsay whines, telling Gwen and I her dilemma. I looked down from my bunk bed as I was reading my book. "Whoa, that's tragic, Lindsay." Gwen sarcastically comments. "Now, I have to actually like suntan, in the sun." The blonde complains, "Do you realize how shriveled and wrinkly that can make your skin?" She sounds distressed as she gets up and goes over to Gwen, "Oh, you totally do." She frowns. My jaw slacks open in shock. Does this girl really not have common sense or is this a joke that only she's in on?

"All right, campers, enough beauty sleep. Time to show us what you're made of!" Chris announces over the P.A. after loudly blaring an alarm.

I sigh, placing my book down, jumping off my bed. I fix my clothes, turning to Gwen. "I wonder what stupid thing we're doing today." I smirk and she chuckles, agreeing. "Totally, at least we're actually rested for this one." She points out, getting up as well to change into her daily clothes.

"True, I'll see you wherever we're meeting." I nudged her gently, walking away not realizing I made her blush from the short interaction.

We all sat by this stage on bleachers, Gophers on one side, Bass on the other. "Are we gonna see a musical?" Lindsay questions what's going on with the stage. I roll my eyes. "I love musicals, especially the ones with singing and dancing." She clasps her hands together and I shake my head, sighing because of her stupidity. I look over to see Gwen making her way over to us and I wave her down. "Gwen! I saved you a spot!" I grin, she sits down. "Thanks." She blushes, Cody unfortunately comes over and sits on the opposite side of me.

Behind the three is Heather, glaring down at Gwen in annoyance.

Trent also decides to sit with us but he sits next to Gwen who doesn't know that the boy has feelings for her, and is flirting. Cody smiles at me, as usual and I awkwardly ignore him, thanking the gods when Chris starts speaking. "Welcome to our brand new, deluxe state-of-the-art outdoor amphitheater." He greets us, showing off the stage.

"Okay, this weeks challenge is a summer camp favorite, a talent contest." He says and I frown at the announcement but Owen of course cheers like he does for every single thing we get told. "Yes! Awesome!" He shouts.

"Each team has 8 hours to pick their three most talented campers. These three will represent them in the show tonight. Sing, dance, juggle. Anything goes as long as it's legal." He makes eye contact with Duncan, also motioning to him so he knows. Duncan snaps in disappointment.

"You'll be judged by our resident talent scout, former D.J V.J and rap legend Grand Master Chef who will show his approval via the Chef-O-Meter." He points up and something dings a few times. "The team that loses will send one camper home tonight. Good luck." He walks away, I take a deep breath. Three people means I don't have to try out for some talent so I could really care less about who they pick.

Gwen and I stand up together, and we go back to our cabins picking spots to do the judging.

We sit on our cabin's porch, Heather in front of us wearing a whistle around her neck and holding a clipboard. Blowing into the whistle she speaks up. "Okay, I'm the team captain, so here's how it's going to work." She says with authority. "Wait, who said you were team captain?" Gwen questions, holding a book in her arms. "She did. Just now." Lindsay acts as if that was obvious. We knew Heather picked herself but the team didn't agree to it.

"Lindsay, Beth and I took a vote and I won." The mean girl smiles. "Threatening them to vote for you isn't exactly democratic." Gwen explains and Trent comes over with a muffin in hand. "Hey, snagged you an extra muffin." He whispers, Gwen smiles. "Oh, thank you but [Name] already gave me hers as an extra, sorry." She rubs the back of her head. "Oh, no problem." He takes it back, holding it to his chest.

"Trent, you're cool with me leading this project, aren't you?" Heather asks him. "Right on, go for it." He says.

"Good, Beth, Lindsay and I will be the judges." She proudly states. "Whatever." Gwen sighs and I raise a brow at the whole interaction.

Now one by one each person shows off their talent of who wants to even show it off. Owen's first, drinking a whole liter of soda. "Are you gonna audition?" Trent turns to Gwen, "Doubtful." She replies. "You should be in this, Trent, you play an instrument." I remind him and I can tell he got annoyed from me being there but oh well. "True!" Gwen nods, looking up at me. "Are you going to do anything? Didn't you say you play the drums?"

"No," I nervously laugh, "I did say that but I'm not auditioning." The only things I know how to play on the drums are from my embarrassing metal loving past. And I am far from being that person. "I'm sure it would've been awesome but I get it." She leans back on me since I'm sitting behind her on the stairs just one above hers.

Owen starts burping the ABC's, the guys all root for the guy as most of the girls look disgusted. "Yes!" Owen punches the air. "That was excellent, man." Trent high fives him, Heather scoffs. "Well, you're not going to do that in this contest. That's disgusting." She exasperates.

"Do you know how hard it is to burp the entire alphabet in one go?" Trent stands up for the bigger blond boy who ends up ruining it by bending over. "I can also toot Beethoven Fifth."

"No! No, no, no." The girls try to shield themselves. "Owen." Lindsay whines, Gwen starts to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Heather integrates her. "Anywhere that's not here." She carries on with where she was heading.

We move on from whatever that was and Heather shows us her ballet moves, wearing a light pink leotard and tu-tu. We all clap at the end. "Thank you." Everyone continues to clap and she looks over at her minions, clearing her throat. "Oh, I vote for Heather to be in the contest!" The blonde one out of the two raises her hand. "I second that." Beth agrees. "Guys, that's so sweet. Okay, so I guess I'm in. Why doesn't everyone take five?" She disbands everyone. "Except you [Name]! Wait right there!" Heather calls after me, I scrunch my nose in confusion but do as I'm told, leaning against the porch railing as she talks to Lindsay about something.

She gives the girl a walkie talkie then shoves her away.

"What did you need me for?" I quiz as she walks up to me. "I thought about what you said. I want to be friends. Real friends." She smiles, I glance around to see if this is some sort of joke since we're alone. "I'm serious." She folds her arms. "Okay." I shrug, going to head back inside the cabin. "Wait, that's it?" She exclaims loudly and I snicker. "We're friends now, what else do you want? A ceremony declaring it to everyone?" I joke, she stays silent for a moment. "I don't know, I just thought there was more to this."

I shake my head. "Nope, just acting normal. Can I go now?" I ask and she only nods in return.

I ended up joining the group by sitting on the picnic tables as Izzy did her audition. "I call this the dance!... Of the Rattlesnake!" She dances getting in Owen's face while making a noise, the bigger boy actually looks hypnotized.

Then there was Beth, Lindsay and Heather joined us in watching more of the auditions. The shorter girl is twirling fire boutons. "Are you sure this is safe?" Heather gasps and the four of us lean back when she gets too close. "It's okay, I've been practicing." She throws them in the air but she runs when it starts to fall down and we all hide behind the tables.

"I kind of missed the catching class." We all crowd the burnt hole in the ground.

"Uh, guys the bush is on fire." Trent points. Justin comes out and extinguishes the fire out wearing sunshades. Leshawna brings him a bottle of water, for some reason he rips his shirt off while drinking the water. Everyone drools over him while I stand there not understanding what's going on.

"Okay, so I think it's me, Trent and Justin. Any objections?" Heather asks, everyone shakes their head and I just walk away. What's his talent though?

I sit in the cabin on Gwen's bed and start to read my book once again. I also changed into my bathing suit since it was getting hotter outside and I thought about going to the water.

I hear talking outside the door then it opens to reveal Gwen.

"Hey, I'm going to the water, wanna join?" she smiles, turning around to change, I stare down at my now closed book. "Mmm, I might not swim but of course I'll join you."I place the book down, averting my eyes from her as she finishes changing and we leave the cabin.

"You're joining here?" Heather scoffs. "Yeah, I'll see you later, darling!" I wave her goodbye jokingly using a fake British accent. "You two are friends?" Gwen turns to me and I shrug. "Sort of." I question it, myself. "Oh so you do charity now?" She jokes and I laugh. "I've been doing Charities for ever now, I got you, remember?" I tease and she gasps, playfully pushing me and we both burst into laughter.

We sit down on the dock and calm ourselves, watching the moves of the water.

"Sometimes I just need to get away from everyone here, you know?" She sighs, "I mean it's like they're all driving me crazy." She pauses then smiles at me. "Well, almost all of them." She blushes and I mentally gasp.

Does Gwen have a thing for me? No, I could be imagining things. The sun is bright today. My thoughts are cut short when the dock starts shaking. We look behind us to see Cody and Owen running down. "Cannonball!!!" Owen shouts, the two jumping and the water splashes mainly Gwen. "Ugh! I hate this place!" She storms off.

"Nice going you idiots." I shake my head. "Yeah, nice going guy.."

I huff, leaving the place as well and going towards the bathrooms. I hear crying from inside one of the stalls so I hesitantly head over to it. "Hey, is everything okay in there?" I ask a bit loudly so the person knows it's for them. "Mm, no but-" they sniffled. "I'll be fine, I guess." From the voice it sounds like Courtney. "Want to talk about it?" I offer, backing away from the door once I hear the person unlocking it and then coming out.

"Oh, it's you." She seems disappointed so I apologize.

"What's going on, pumpkin?" I go over to the sink, washing my hands and face. "Don't call me that and you're on the other team I'm not telling you anything." She folds her arms, her tears air drying on her face. "I get that but I can still be a friend to vent to." I look at her through the mirror, smiling.

She doesn't say anything, obviously considering it. "I'm sorry-" "Don't apologize, you're thinking of what's best for your team." I turn around and go up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Good luck with the talent contest." I close my eyes smiling before heading out of the bathroom.

I join my team in sitting on the bleachers, being next to Gwen as usual.

"It's the T.D.I. Talent Extravaganza!" Chris shouts. "Welcome to the very first camp Wawanakwa talent contest, where six campers will showcase their mad skills and desperately try not to humiliate themselves. First up for the Screaming Gophers is Justin!" Chris declares, we clap and cheer for our teammate, and as he performs it's just him posing a bunch of different ways and then ending it with him leaning back in a chair and dumping water on himself.

"There are two syllables for hot, "Jus "" and "Tin." Man, that guy is just so hot I could kiss him." Owen's eyes go wide from what he just said. "Because he's a good teammate. Dah, why'd I say that?" He beats himself up.

"I don't see why people gawk at Justin. He's a man who uses his attractiveness to get this. Plus as I said. He's a man." [Name] rolls her eyes.

"Okay, I don't know what that was, but dang you got some moves, dude." Chris puts his thumb up and the Chef score moves pretty high. Eight out of Ten."First up for the Killer Bass, make some noise for the big guy, DJ!" He calls and DJ des some ribbon dance, but gets caught on the pink ribbon a few times.

"Dainty and Masculine, let's see what Grandmaster Chef thinks." It was only two points. "Not much." DJ frowns and sadly walks off the stage.

"So, with two down and four acts to go, it's the Screaming Gophers screaming ahead. Next on deck... Trent! Take it away my bro." The boy comes on stage with his guitar, sitting down on a stool. "This one goes out to someone special here at camp." I wince, and hide my face knowing it's for Gwen who does not reciprocate the same feelings. She acts oblivious, not knowing it's for her either. I zone out through the whole song, not wanting to cringe out.

Chris runs out at the last strum, "Nice work, I'm liking your style, dude. So does the Grandmaster Chef." He got half score and for some reason waves at the camera for a really long time.

"All right, quit hogging my light, buddy." Chris shoves him and I try not to laugh. "Three down and three to go, and the Killer Bass are totally sucking so far. Let's hear it for Bridgette."She doesn't come out right away and then shows up doing a handstand. Burping and then throwing up, projectile vomiting. "I'm hit! I'm hit!" Owen shouts.

She continues and hits Katie and Sadie who scream, Katie throwing up as well. And then hits most of my team with her vomit. Luckily Gwen and I didn't get hit.

The poor girl slips and falls off stage and onto tyler. "Hey, puke on your own boyfriend!" Lindsay shouts at the girl who was just sick all over the place. "On your own what, Lindsay?" Heather questions angrily, hands on her hips. "I didn't say boyfriend." The blonde back tracks.

Chris plugs his nose, coming back out on stage. "Clean up on aisle three, four, five and six. In the meantime, we'll take a short break to hose the joint down." He says.

"Going home won't be so bad. I could always work at the surf shack." Bridgette frowns, wiping a tear.

"Welcome back to the T.D.I talent Extravaganza! Okay, so in a strange turn of events, Bridgette's chunk-blowing fest registered two thumbs up by Grandmaster Chef. But it's not enough to pull ahead of the Screaming Gophers who hold the lead with Trents love song. So without further delay here she is for the leaders... Heather!" Chris announces and the girl walks out on stage, sitting on a stool.

"Originally, I was going to dance for you but instead I want to celebrate team spirit with a collaboration." She holds out a familiar book, I tilt my head. She gently shakes it a bit, staring at Gwen. "She wouldn't." Gwen whispers after gasping and I sat there in shock. "No fucking way." I shake my head. "So with words by Gwen, performance by me, enjoy." She clears her throat before reading it off.

"Okay, so I tried just being her friend, but she's just so cute. If they were trying to find the perfect person to distract me with her they got the right one, McGorgeous. We just totally connect. She's pretty much the only person I trust and relate to here and I know it's a cliche but I love how different we are but also so similar. She's so nice to everyone! Even Heather."

Gwen slides off the bleacher and runs off, I furrow my eyebrows in anger. "Thank you," Heather closes the book and makes eye contact with me. I flip her off then run after Gwen.

"People thought I was mean to Gwen. Whatever. All I needed was four votes against Justin. Lindsay and Beth were easy. Izzy's just crazy and Owen, piece of cake." She looks at her nails.

Owen's eating a piece of cake giggling. "Piece of cake." He hums.

I finally catch up with Gwen who was holding herself. "Hey-"

"Could you please save me the embarrassment for right now." She cries out, not looking at me and I frown at the sight.

"But-"

"Please, we can talk later on." She pleads and walks away and I decide to listen to her, plopping down on a tree stump to think about everything that just went down.

"Kudos to you all for an incredible night of entertainment, music, drama, barfing." We all hold our marshmallows and now Gwen is avoiding me so I stand next to Leshawna, staring down at the white fluff in my hands.

"There's only one marshmallow on this plate. Justin you reminded us all that looks matter a lot. And Heather you're full of surprises, but reading another chick's diary out loud to the whole world? Man, that is whack. No kidding, that's really messed up dude." Chris talks in a serious tone which was weird to see since he likes the drama that radiates off of us but even he can admit that what Heather did was extremely wrong.

"Oh, please, just give me my marshmallow already." Heather rolls her eyes. "Justin, I personally think this is very wrong, but tonight hotness just wasn't enough. The last Marshmallow goes to Heather." Chris says with disappointment laced in his voice.

"Time to catch the boat of losers, bruh." Justin sadly walks away. "Later, bruh." Heather waves to him, eating her marshmallow.

"If that evil little cow thinks she's getting away with this she has another thing coming." Gwen states.

"Befriending Heather was the worst move I have made all summer, and it's just begun." [Name] huffs.

The camera catches Gwen knocking on the door to reveal Harold. "You mentioned you brought a red ant farm with you, correct?"

"Yes." He nods.

Next clip is Heather running out of the cabin screaming with ants all over her.

"Sweet dreams everyone." Gwen giggles, closing her eyes to go to sleep.

Links To Other Writings

If anyone wants to be added let me know

Taglist

@pulling-out-my-eyes

[morri-draws]

Gwaine x Reader - 'The Threads That Bind Us' - Chapter 6

Story Summary:

You, a humble dressmaker from Camelot’s lower town, are commissioned to make a new gown for Queen Guinevere. Impressed by your skills, she offers you the position of Royal Clothier. During your time in the castle, you catch the eye of one of the knights of King Arthur’s inner circle, Sir Gwaine. What starts as a sweet courtship is turned upside down when misfortune strikes and you must deal with the aftermath, as well as an unwelcome visit from Gwaine’s unpleasant sister.

Rating: Mature

Tags: Female Reader/Gwaine, set between seasons 4 and 5, fluff, angst, hurt/comfort

Words: 4,042

Read Chapter 1 | Read Chapter 2 | Read Chapter 3

Read Chapter 4 | Read Chapter 5

Read on Ao3

The king smiles from the courtyard steps, ready to greet his queen, but when the party, or what remains of it, comes into view, his expression darkens in an instant. The party is but a fragment of what had left days ago.

He rushes down the steps, taking two at a time, to meet his love, helping her dismount. She falls into his arms.

“We were attacked by bandits,” She says, her voice wavering with emotion. “They took (Y/N),”

Gwen sobs into Arthur’s shoulder, before pulling back.

“You have to save her, Arthur, we have to help her,” Tears fall down her cheeks. “She’s my friend,”

“We will, Guinevere,” He rests his finger under her chin, gently lifting her face so her gaze meets his. “I promise you, we will bring her home,”

He looks behind his queen, meeting the gaze of his most senior knight. Gently asking Gwen to go inside, he gestures for Sir Leon to approach.

“The others have just finished training,” The king says. “They should still be in the armoury. Tell them to gear up, we’re heading out,”

“Right away, sire,”

~

Sir Leon rushes to the armoury at his king’s command, where he does indeed find the other knights of the inner circle packing up their gear. Sirs Gwaine, Percival and Elyan’s conversation ceases as they look up upon hearing his approach.

“There’s no time for rest, gear up and be ready to head out within the half hour,” Sir Leon says.

“What’s happened?” Sir Elyan steps forward. “Is it Gwen?”

“No, she’s made it back safely, but we were attacked by bandits. They took (Y/N),”

“What?” Gwaine pushes past Elyan, coming face to face with Leon. “How did this happen? Why didn’t you save her?” His voice rises, wide eyes searching Leon’s.

“I couldn’t save both (Y/N) and the queen,” Leon replies.

“You could have,” Gwaine growls, grasping Leon by the collar. “If you really cared, you would have found a way,”

“It is not a question of caring, Gwaine. We were outnumbered. My first duty was to my queen,”

“I should have been there,” Gwaine shakes Leon. “I should have been the one to go. Her worth should not have been thought as lesser, she should not have been sacrificed,”

“That’s not how it was,” Leon starts, but Gwaine raises a fist, his lips pulled back in a snarl.

“Stop!” Percival’s voice booms as his hands pull the two knights apart. “The longer we spend arguing, the further (Y/N) slips from our reach,” He looks between his two friends. “Put the accusations aside, Gwaine, and get ready to head out,”

Gwaine looks to Percival for a moment, before giving a curt nod. Percival releases Gwaine from his grip and heads to the armour rack. Gwaine shoots Leon a glare before doing the same.

“We’ll bring her home,” Elyan places a hand on Gwaine’s shoulder, giving a reassuring squeeze.

~

You’re jolted awake by a sharp poke to the ribs, and ordered to get up and eat some breakfast, as the camp is being packed up, ready to move on.

You and the men move out on foot except for the bandit leader, who rides one of the horses, the others being used to carry supplies and loot.

You walk all day, your mind in a daze, as if you’re phasing in and out of existence, the pain in your feet the only thing dragging you back to reality. You catch part of a conversation two of the men are having, overhearing them mention that the party has now crossed the border into Odin’s kingdom. Any small hope you have carried of being saved leaves you. No matter how pure King Arthur’s heart, it would be foolish to risk crossing the border to save an employee.

Any thoughts of rescue now banished from your mind, you wonder what’s in store for you. The only hope you cling to now is that you will be purchased for a lady, perhaps to be a maidservant. That mightn’t be so bad, if she isn’t cruel to you.

When the sun is low in the sky, the bandits make camp again. The night is much the same as the last, with the occasional jeers and gestures from the men, but they stay true to their leader’s wishes: they do not touch you. In fact, they keep their distance, as if an invisible barrier surrounds you. But any feeling of safety that might bring is overshadowed by the uncertainty of your future. When you go to bed, your broken sleep is accompanied by restless dreams fuelled by your fear.

~

Already awake when the men rise for the day, a sharp poke isn’t needed to rouse you this time. You get up and have breakfast, returning your bowl to the pile once you’ve finished eating. When you turn around, you notice figures emerge from the trees. Your first thought being that they are more bandits, perhaps ones from a different clan, you back away and head for the horses, crouching beside them.

“Merlin, get (Y/N) to safety!”

You whirl around at the mention of your name and find King Arthur of Camelot, dressed very unlike himself, in a blue tunic and brown leather vest. The blue tunic which you made.

Within moments, Merlin is at your side.

“Are you hurt?” He asks, his eyes searching you frantically.

You shake your head and take his arm when he offers it, letting him help you to stand. Once you’re steady, you glance up, eyes widening as you spot two bandits heading straight for you. Merlin turns, following your gaze, before murmuring in your ear.

“Run for the trees,”

You do as he says, finding a particularly wide tree to hide behind, when you hear a shout. Peering around the bough, you spot the two bandits, now flat on their backs by the campfire, clothing aflame, and Merlin, sprinting your way. He takes your hand and guides you away from the camp and behind another tree.

“Stay here, out of sight,” He pants.

“Please don’t leave me,”

“I need to help back there. Stay here and you’ll be safe,”

You nod reluctantly and Merlin runs back the way he came.

You pull your knees against your chest so your form remains as small as possible, the tree’s uneven surface pressing into your back. You attempt to steady your breathing, which proves difficult with the sounds of battle thumping in your ears. You hate not knowing what’s going on, which side is besting the other, so you lean out slightly to take a peek.

Your eyes scan the camp-turned-battlefield, spotting Sir Leon, Sir Elyan and Sir Percival. You continue, noticing a bandit not engaged, his gait stealthy, as he approaches a knight clashing with another bandit.

“Gwaine!” You shout as loud as you can.

Sir Gwaine’s gaze leaves his opponent and finds you, pointing to his yet unseen attacker. Gwaine whirls around and raises his sword just in time to block the incoming blow before thrusting his blade into the stealthy bandit’s chest. Pulling the blade free, he spins around, continuing his battle with his original opponent.

You exhale with relief, the thought of what might have happened unbearable, and return to your position behind the tree, meaning to keep watch in case of another dishonourable attack, when a lumbering figure comes into view. The bandit leader’s hulking form limps toward you, his face set in a scowl. He brings his fingers to his mouth, whistling loudly. The sound of pounding hooves approaches, a horse coming into view, stopping some feet away from the bandit leader, waiting for its master. The bandit reaches for you, yanking your arm so hard that you fall to your knees.

“Let her go!”

You hear a shout from the camp and look up to see King Arthur, a crossbow trained on your attacker. The bandit’s large hand still grasping your arm, he pulls you up, snaking his arm around your neck, your back pressed against him. He takes small steps towards his horse, your feet dragging with him, as he uses you as a human shield.

“If you put her on that horse, you’re a dead man,” The king shouts from his position, edging closer.

Your captor stops in his tracks. You feel him moving behind you, his other arm fumbling for something.

“And if I let the woman go, you’ll allow me to walk free?” The bandit bellows from behind your head, making your ears ring.

“That’s right,” The king says.

Gwaine steps up beside Arthur, speaking quietly in the king’s ear. The king responds in the same inaudible tone.

“If you’re planning to trick me, the wench dies,”

Your stomach drops. “Please don’t kill me,” You beg. “That is King Arthur Pendragon. He is an honourable man. He will keep his word,”

He grunts, before shouting to the camp again. “I let her go, and I get on my horse and ride away,”

“That’s right,” The king replies.

The bandit removes his arm from around your neck, bringing a moment of relief, until you feel a pull against your scalp as he tugs on your braided hair.

“I won’t be left with nothing,” He murmurs in your ear.

Your head lurches forward as the pressure on your scalp suddenly dissipates. While at first you think he’s simply let go of you, your head feels unusually light. Horror dawns on you as you reach a hand around the back of your head, feeling the hacked ends of your hair. You turn to your captor, spotting the glint of a knife as he returns it to his belt, and in the other hand, a bundle of hair, your hair. A guttural scream escapes you as your knees buckle. The bandit mounts his horse and urges it to run, just as a crossbow bolt buries into his leg. He cries out but the horse keeps its pace and is soon out of view.

Merlin rushes forward, skidding along the ground to kneel beside you.

“I’m so sorry. I lost sight of him,”

You glance up at the sound of crunching leaves, spotting Gwaine jogging toward you, crossbow in hand. You hastily pull up the hood of your cloak as he crouches down in front of you.

“Are you hurt?”

His eyes flit about, searching you all over. You want to curl up and hide under your cloak, but since you cannot, you simply shake your head. He stands and extends an arm to you. You reach up to take it and he helps you to stand, staying by your side as he leads you through the camp, Merlin following behind, when you spot the stolen saddlebags.

“Those are the silks we got from the market,” You say. “They stole them too,”

Gwaine shoots a look at Merlin, who steps forward and picks up the bags, swinging them over his shoulders.

You make it to the horses and Gwaine takes you to his, positioning himself to give you a leg-up.

“Gwaine,” The king calls out. “(Y/N) can ride with Merlin. I need you to be ready to fight if the need arises. Who knows if those bandits have more friends hiding in the woods,”

Gwaine frowns and takes you to a different horse, where Merlin is checking over the tack.

“You hear that, Merlin?” Gwaine asks his friend.

Merlin nods. “I’ll look after her,”

Gwaine gives you a pained look before returning to his own horse. Merlin helps you to mount his before climbing on himself. You hold onto the back of his jacket as the party starts to ride, your head resting against his back as fatigue washes over you.

~

When the sky darkens, the party stops to make camp. You sit upon the fallen leaves on the ground as Merlin builds a fire and prepares a meal, while the knights tend to their horses.

You stare into the flickering flames, just as you did the last two nights with the bandit camp. You should feel relief at being rescued, to be away from those foul men, but you seem to have no feelings at all.

“Here,” You’re jolted from your stupor by Gwaine passing you a bowl of stew. “First serve from the pot,”

You take the stew and allow its scent to fill your nostrils. It seems Merlin is a better cook than the bandits. Gwaine gets a serve for himself and sits next to you as you slip the spoon into your mouth, the stew slightly too hot against your tongue.

“The bandits,” Gwaine says quietly from beside you. “Did they give you anything to eat? I can get you a bigger helping,”

You swallow your mouthful and clear your throat. “They fed me,”

Gwaine nods, taking the first spoonful from his own bowl. You continue eating, noticing from the corner of your eye that Gwaine keeps glancing your way. You wish he wouldn’t, and consider turning away. For the past couple of days, you’ve been watched at all times, even when you needed to answer a call of nature, you were escorted and watched, your skirt offering the only privacy. It matters not that you are now watched out of care and concern. You wish more than anything that you couldn’t be seen.

You finish your stew and place the bowl beside you.

“I’m tired,” You say as you stand.

“I’ll fetch you a bedroll,” Gwaine says as he gets up as well.

You stay standing by the fire as he does so. You don’t expect to get much sleep, but feel that if you are believed to be sleeping, then people will stop looking at you, questions and pity in their eyes.

Gwaine returns with a bedroll and offers to set it up for you, but you decline and take it from him, finding a spot between the horses and a tree. There won’t be room for anyone to set up a bedroll next to yours, which is what you want.

~

The party sets out the next morning, you riding with Merlin again. After a few hours on the road, the party arrives back in Camelot. Once you’ve reached the citadel’s courtyard, the horses slow and come to a stop. Merlin dismounts before helping you to do so. You hear your name called out and look up to find Gwen running toward you. She embraces you, holding you tight as her head rests on your shoulder.

“I’m so sorry, (Y/N), I’m so sorry,”

While you’re startled at first, you sink into her embrace, wrapping your own arms around her. After a few moments, she pulls back.

“We must have Gaius check over you,”

While all you want to do right now is disappear in your chambers, the look in Gwen’s eyes makes you give in. She threads her arm through yours and leads you into the castle. You turn your head at the sound of rushed footsteps behind to see Merlin and Gwaine following.

Once you reach Gaius’ chamber’s, he beckons you inside and leads you to sit on the edge of his bed.

“Did the bandits hurt you in any way?” He asks, his voice gentle.

You shake your head. Hearing a shuffle from your left, you look over to see Gwaine and Merlin standing nearby, watching you. Gaius follows your gaze and sighs quietly.

“Gwaine, Merlin, please give us some privacy,”

You glance at them guiltily, but are relieved when they do as Gaius says, closing the door behind them.

“Do you want me to go?” Gwen asks from beside you. “I won’t be offended,”

“No,” You reach for her hand. “Please, stay,”

She gives your hand a gentle squeeze in response.

“Now that you don’t have an audience, I shall ask again: were you hurt in any way?” Gaius asks.

You swallow. “No… their leader told his men,” You cough to clear your throat, which has begun to swell, impairing your voice. “He told them not to touch me because… I’d be worth more unspoiled,”

Your voice breaks on the last syllable. Gwen puts her arm around you, holding you close.

“Worth more?” Gaius says. “Do you mean to say they were intending to sell you into slavery?”

You nod shakily. “He said that every part of me was worth something. I suppose that’s why, before he escaped, he did this,”

You pull down your hood, revealing your hacked hair. Gwen gasps, bringing a hand to her mouth in shock.

“I am sorry this has happened to you,” Gaius says. “The only consolation I can give is that your hair will grow back in time,”

“How much time? How can I be seen like this?”

Gwen leans her head against yours. “We’ll work something out together,”

Gaius walks over to a shelf and plucks a small bottle from it, which he brings back and offers to you.

“A tincture to help you sleep. Take three drops when you go to bed. All I can prescribe is rest,” He looks to Gwen. “Please take (Y/N) to her chambers,”

Gwen nods and helps you to stand, before leading you out the door. Gwaine and Merlin are standing outside in the corridor. You turn your face away to hide the evidence of any emotion as you pass by them.

When you arrive in your chambers, you notice two neat piles of cloth have been placed on your worktable – the fabrics from the market. Apart from that, your chambers look just as they did when you left them, but you don’t feel comfortable as you should in your home.

“I can’t rest,” You say. “I feel… dirty… and I can still feel where that man’s arm was, as if he is still restraining me,”

Gwen gives you a sympathetic look. “Do you have a tub?” She asks.

You nod. “It’s in the bedroom,”

Gwen enters your room and returns a few moments later, rolling the round bathtub along the floor, before setting it down in front of the fire. Looking about the room, she spots the large pail of water in the corner and finds two pots, which she takes to the pail and fills, returning them to the fireplace.

“If you can get a fire going and start heating the water, I’ll have some more fetched for you,” Gwen says.

“You needn’t go to the trouble,”

“Please,” Gwen says firmly. “Let me do this,”

She strides across the room and opens the door, looking back at you before she leaves. “Don’t forget the fire,”

You nod and turn your attention to the grate, where you begin to assemble firewood and kindling.

By the time Gwen returns, the pots of water are hanging above the fire, beginning to simmer.

“Some servants will be by soon to bring the water,” She says. “How about you go up to your room and get undressed?”

You do as she says and enter your room, finally removing your cloak and stripping down to just your shift, before heading over to the basin stand. You hold your breath as you peer into the mirror to see your reflection for the first time in days. The hacked ends of your hair are uneven, wisps of longer hairs poking out between the shorter parts.

You hear Gwen’s voice as she presumably lets the servants inside, since you hear the sounds of several footsteps and splashing water. After the noise dies down, there’s a knock at your bedchamber door.

“The servants just left,” Gwen says. “Everything is ready for you,”

You descend from your room to find the bathtub full of steaming water and your dressing screen positioned next to it for privacy.

“Thank you so much, Gwen,” You dip a finger into the water. “It feels wrong to have the queen doing this for me,”

“Do not think of me as the queen,” Gwen replies. “But as your friend who wants to help you in any way she can,”

You smile, hoping she understands how much all this means to you in a time you cannot express it in words. Stepping behind the screen, you remove your shift and step into the bath, lowering your body into the water until just your head and neck remain unsubmerged. To your left you find your small table with soaps set atop it. You wash yourself, each stroke cleansing away some of unpleasantness of the last few days, making you feel a little more like yourself. You wash your face and lastly your hair.

You sigh. “What am I going to do about my hair? I can’t have anyone see me like this,”

“You could wrap it, or wear a cap or veil?” Gwen suggests from the other side of the screen.

“I suppose those are my options now. I’ll put something together tomorrow,”

“Would you like me to tidy it up, at least? So when it grows, it will be even?” Gwen offers.

“Yes, thank you Gwen. My scissors are on my workbench by the window, and I have a hairbrush in my room beside the basin,”

You hear a chair scrape back as Gwen goes to retrieve them.

“May I come in?” She asks when she returns.

“You may,”

Gwen steps around the screen and into view, scissors and brush in one hand and chair in the other. She places the chair behind you and sits down, beginning to brush your hair gently. You close your eyes, relaxing at her delicate touch, the gentlest you’ve been handled in days.

“I’m going to begin cutting, just taking off enough so that it’s nice and even, alright?”

“Go ahead,”

Gwen’s fingers brush against your neck as she takes the first section of hair and you hear the scissors snip, the cold metal gliding against your warm skin. She brushes through your hair again and snips a couple more times.

“There,” Gwen says, placing the scissors down on the small table.

You jolt at the sound of knocking at your chamber door.

“That’s probably Gwaine come to check on you,” Gwen says, standing up. “Shall I tell him to come back later?”

“No, tell him I’m resting,”

Gwen nods and disappears behind the screen. You hear her footsteps reach the door and it unlatching. You listen to murmured words, but can’t make them out, however you do recognise the visitor’s voice as Gwaine’s. A pang shoots through your heart, thinking of how if it were another time, where none of these terrible things happened, you’d be overjoyed to see him.

Gwen returns, standing at the edge of the screen.

“It was Gwaine. He wanted to know how you were doing and asked if he could see you. I told him you were resting, like you said,”

You hang your head. “I just can’t bear to see him again today,”

“You don’t need to explain yourself to me,” Gwen says gently.

“The water’s starting to get cold,” You say. “I suppose I should get out,”

Gwen removes the towel that’s hanging on the dressing screen and brings it beside the bath, spreading it out to give you privacy. You stand, water drops streaming down your skin, and step out of the bath. Gwen drapes the towel over you and steps behind the screen again. You dry yourself and head to your room, where a clean shift and robe are waiting for you, and you put them on. When you step back in the main chamber, Gwen is standing by the dining table, a plate of food in front of her.

“I had a meal brought up from the palace kitchens. I was going to whip something up but you don’t have much in,”

“Gwen,” You stride toward her, pulling her into an embrace. “I don’t know how I can ever properly thank you for your kindness. It means more to me than words can describe,”

“Don’t worry about that,” Gwen smiles. “It’s what friends do,”

She gestures for you to sit. When you do, she places cutlery next to your plate.

“Now, eat and get some rest,”

Gwen bids you good day and leaves your chambers. You finish your meal and following her instruction, return to your bedroom, draw the curtain and climb into bed.