#chloe's hand being balled up into a fist just means more to me than you could understand

[longmaxsilvarg]

[dreamwritesimagines]

Burn The Witch 4 - Making Believe [Bucky Barnes x Reader]

A.N: Thank you so much for your wonderful support and feedback my loves ! ❤ Here’s the next chapter, I hope you like it as well and please let me know what you think! ❤ Thank you! ❤❤❤

Warnings: Enemies to lovers, fake dating, mentions of blood, sex, violence, death, manipulation, language, guns, knives.

Summary: A lot can happen in a coffee shop. 

Series Masterlist

Considering all the missions your superiors had sent you, this wasn’t the first one to make you end up with a gunshot wound, but it was the first one that you were assigned to seduce the target and ended up with a gunshot wound as a first impression.

Now that you had met Bucky, the next step would be easier. You just hoped he wouldn’t suspect something was up like General kept warning you about, so you had to make sure to memorize every single detail of your cover story.

Instead of being a trained assassin, you were now working in a milkshake shop.

Instead of having lived there your whole life, you were now clueless about the city since you had recently moved there.

Instead of liking horror movies, you now loved rom-coms.

New identity, new apartment, new car, new everything. It was as if the real you had never existed, but none of that was your biggest issue right now.

It was your new uniform for the milkshake shop.

“Jesus Christ,” you muttered to yourself, looking in the mirror before fixing your skirt. Even after a week, you still weren’t used to wearing it, the uniform was some sort of a retro diner waitress costume with red and white stripes, cinched waist and a white apron over the short skirt. “I’m going to kill whoever picked this after I’m done with the mission.”

“Y/N?” Chloe called out from the living room, “Come on, we need to go over everything for today.”

You ran a hand over your face and walked to the living room to find your two best friends sprawling on the couch. Keith let out a laugh as soon as he saw you in that outfit, but managed to hide it by pressing his fist on his lips while Chloe kicked at his boot.

“I didn’t say anything!” He held up his hands, “Will you break my phone again if I take a picture?”

“Yeah,” you pointed at him, “I will, so don’t even.”

“We need to go over the plan,” Chloe said, “Today is the day you accidentally run into Barnes, he’ll be at that coffee shop.”

“How do you know where he will be?”

Chloe scoffed, “Hello? I’m a genius hacker?”

Keith sat up straighter, turning the pages of your file.

“Okay so,” he said, “You guys will probably make some small talk, let’s have some practice. Pretend I’m Bucky, how will you talk about yourself?”

“We don’t need to practice it, it’s not my first rodeo,” you reminded him “I got this.”

“Y/N, no offense but he isn’t some clueless civilian okay? The guy was going after targets before you or your parents were born for that matter. The tiniest mistake could tip him off.”

“He has a point.”

“Fine,” you sighed, fixing your nametag, “Let’s practice then.”

Keith took a deep breath and cleared his throat, “Look at that, we ran into each other again.”

You frowned at his deep voice, “Bucky doesn’t sound like one of those robots in the Terminator, Keith.”

“I’m in the zone, just go with it,” he said as offered you his hand, and you shook it.

“Yeah, hi again.”

“I haven’t seen you around here before.”

“Oh that’s normal, I just moved here. A month ago.”

“You just moved here?” he repeated “Really? Did you get used to the city yet?”

“A little.”

“I bet your family misses you.”

“Not really, I grew up with my grandmother. She passed away last year.”

“Any siblings?”

“No.”

Keith raised his brows, “Can you be less specific?”

“Keith—“

“You’re not acting like a civilian right now, you’re acting like a spy who has been forced to socialize and he will see right through that,” he told you. “You have to give him more details, civilians talk about themselves a lot.”

“It’s true,” Chloe said, “Once I was in this speed dating thing and just- don’t ask. They don’t stop talking about themselves.”

Keith pursed his lips only for a moment, stealing a look at Chloe before turning to you,

“Let’s try again. Any siblings?”

You rolled your eyes, “Unfortunately not. I’m an only child but when I was a kid, I kept begging my parents for a sister. My mom asked me what would happen if I got a brother, apparently I went like “but mommy, you can give him back then!””

“There we go, embarrassing childhood memories,” Keith grinned, “Good idea.”

You checked your wristwatch, “I gotta run,” you said, “You guys can see yourselves out.”

“I was actually hoping I could stay a little more,” Chloe said, “To make this place look a bit more appropriate. I suppose you’ll bring him here at some point?”

You pulled your brows together, looking around. “Yeah, so? There’s a bedroom.”

“Ever the romantic, this one,” Keith said and Chloe shook her head,

“Y/N, he needs to see something personal otherwise he might get suspicious.”

You pursed your lips, deep in thought, “You mean like sex toys?”

“Oh Jesus…”

“Contrary to popular belief, when people say they want to see something personal, they don’t refer to sex toys.” Keith stated helpfully, “That being said, we’re all screwed if you end up falling for a civilian, you have no idea how to act like one.”

“I meant personal as in stuff to make your place look more homely,” Chloe explained, “Things from your cover’s past that show him we didn’t fabricate this whole identity.”

“Even if we did,” Keith mumbled under his breath and she nodded.

“Even if we did. He needs to see something personal when he comes here, like…” she motioned at the walls, “Like your childhood pictures or your art projects from when you were seventeen.”

“I was learning how to use a pencil as a knife when I was seventeen, Chloe.”

“Exactly. Just let me handle it, I’ve been watching so many makeover shows lately.”

You shrugged your shoulders, “Knock yourself out,” you said, “I have milkshakes to fill, see you guys later.”

“Go get him tiger!”

“You got this!” Chloe called out as you walked to the door, “Just be confident and your milkshake will bring all the ex-assassins to the yard!”

You let out a small laugh, then closed the door behind you before throwing your shoulders back and going down the stairs.

                                                         ***

Approaching the target as your training taught you had to have certain steps. You couldn’t just implant yourself in their life, you had to wait until they thought it was their choice to include you in their lives. Sometimes it took more time than you had patience for, but in the end it was worth it.

Seeing that Bucky Barnes was no civilian, every single step had to be checked twice.

Well the uniform would help the mission, at least a little.

A distracted target was a good target.

You lowered the binoculars before pushing them into your purse and fixing the apron wrapped around your waist. Bucky was sitting with Sam at the coffee shop and they seemed to be in a deep discussion, not even aware of what was going on around them. You took a deep breath and approached the door before you pushed it, then slowly made your way to the barista.

“Hi, can I get a cappuccino please? Small.” You smiled at her and went to the counter on the right to wait for your order. Out of the corner of your eye you could see Sam looking at you with a frown before saying something to Bucky, nodding in your direction. You kept your eyes on the counter, rocking back and forth on the balls of your feet before you scratched around the tape of the bandage over the bullet wound absentmindedly.

Come on…. you thought Come on, approach me already, just come here….

“Here you go, miss.”

“Thank you,” you said, taking the cup off the counter before you started pouring sugar into it just to stall, and finally heard someone clear their throat behind you.

Bingo.

You looked over your shoulder and turned around, your jaw dropping.

“Come on,” you let out a giggle, “Is this real?”

Bucky smiled slightly and pursed his lips together as if he wasn’t familiar with the gesture, “Uh…hi.”

“Hi!” you said, your voice way too high pitched for a moment, “Wow. We meet again, my hero.”

His smile widened and he rubbed the back of his neck, “How’s your arm?”

“Healing,” you ran a finger over the tape of the bandage, “I didn’t die, that’s something. But the doctor said that was the worst bullet wound he had ever seen in his life.”

Bucky frowned, “Wait, really?”

“No, I’m just trying to look badass,” you admitted, making him chuckle, “They didn’t even think it needed stitches.”

“Ah,” he said and motioned at your uniform, “So you’re a…?”

You scrunched up your nose in what you hoped to be a cute manner and shot him an abashed look, “I know. I thought the exact same thing when I first saw myself in it.”

“I doubt that,” he mumbled more to himself and you tilted your head, batting your lashes.

“Hm?”

“Nothing,” he said quickly, “So the uniform?”

“I work at this milkshake shop just around the corner,” you said, “Apparently retro shops are popular nowadays. It’s supposed to look like this pin up style— can you tell me what’s wrong with the dress so that I can tell the owner what a ridiculous idea it is?”

He opened his mouth and closed it again, looking you up and down, “I don’t- it’s-“ he stammered “You know, it was such a long time ago. I think it looks perfectly fine.”

“Does it?”

“Absolutely.”

You grinned at him, “Well in any case, you should drop by sometime. Milkshakes are better than the uniform, I promise.”

“Yeah?”

You nodded, “Yeah! I would’ve invited you sooner but by the time I was done at the hospital you had already left, and they also told me you paid for the whole thing and the taxi, so…”

“Don’t worry about it,” he waved a hand, “It’s nothing.”

You bit down on your lip, “If you don’t mind me asking,” you said softly, “Why did you leave in a hurry? I mean obviously you didn’t have to stay, I’m sure you’re very busy and—“

“No no, it’s nothing like that,” Bucky cut you off, “I just didn’t want you to think you owed me anything, that’s all.”

“Huh,” you clicked your tongue, “I see. I was wondering what the catch was, didn’t have to wait that long. That’s good to know.”

He raised his brows, amused for some reason, “What’s the catch?”

“You’re too much of a gentleman.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Not really,” you taunted him “Just unfamiliar.”  

His gaze lingered on you as you took a sip of your coffee, keeping your eyes on him.

“I hope you got home safe though,” he said after a beat and you thought for a moment.

“I did, and now I know to stay away from dark alleys in New York,” you said, “Lesson learned I’d say.”

“You’re not from around here?”

“I- no, I actually moved here just a month ago,” you said, “I grew up in a small town, we didn’t really have robbers or anything. And I managed to get mugged within the first thirty days in a big city. A true New York experience, I feel like I belong here already.”

“Your folks must be losing their minds if you attract trouble that fast in the city.”

“No one is losing their minds, it’s just me,” you said and when you saw his quizzical glances, you felt the need to explain. “I grew up with my grandma and I lost her a year ago, so…”

“I’m sorry.”

“Ah it’s okay,” you said, “She wouldn’t want me to live in sadness, she told me that herself. You can’t focus on what ifs, you know? We just decide what to do with the time left for us and that’s it. Past would drive all of us crazy otherwise.”

He looked almost surprised at your take on loss and when you saw the soft light in his eyes, you knew you had just hit jackpot.

“You’re a glass half full kind of person, huh?”

Nope, I’m more of a “use the glass as a weapon” kind of person.

“Yeah,” you said, “There are enough pessimists in the world, and they don’t need me within their ranks. No one really did anything nice by thinking the worst anyways.”

“Oh you were definitely not raised here.”

Your jaw dropped, “You know what Mr. Barnes, I’d take that as an offense but lucky for you, you saved me the other day, so I’ll let that slide.”

“Mm hm,” He looked like he was struggling with himself not to laugh, “Lucky me.”

You narrowed your eyes at him playfully, then checked your wristwatch.

“I should probably go, my boss cares a lot about punctuality,” you said, “But is it okay if I gave you my number?”

He stared at you for a couple of seconds as if he couldn’t believe you.

“Wait- really?”

“I mean I was going to wait until you asked me, but apparently you’re too much of a gentleman,” you joked as he hastily grabbed his phone from his pocket and handed it to you. You typed in your number, then saved it.

Y/N (The Milkshake Girl)

Bucky tilted his head, his brows furrowed, “What, you didn’t think I’d recognize your name?”

“Well it’s better to be safe than sorry,” you joked, “Besides you should really come by sometime. We have the best chocolate milkshakes. It’s on the house.”

He smiled, “I will.”

You took a step, then held your breath and turned around as if you had just remembered something.

As if it wasn’t all practiced.

“But not after 4 on Mondays and Wednesdays,” you said, “I volunteer at the soup kitchen then.”

That light in his eyes was almost gentle, as if he was worried he could hurt you just by looking at you, but couldn’t stop himself from doing so.

“I’ll see you not after 4 on Mondays and Wednesdays then,” he said and you giggled, then turned around and walked to the door. Sam was watching you with a small, proud grin on his lips so you waved at him and left the coffee shop, still holding the warm cup tightly in your hand.

As soon as you were sure you were out of their sight, you dropped the smile, exhaled a relaxed breathe and grabbed your phone to touch the contact on the screen.

“I’m sorry, our delivery service is down right now,” the voice said and you scratched around the tape on your arm before telling her the code;

“That’s okay, I can wait until the rain stops.”

There was a click on the other line and soon enough you heard the assistant’s voice.

“Hello?”

“This is Shrike, put me through the General.”

“Of course, a second please,” she said and you tossed the cup into the garbage can, then General’s voice reached you.

“Shrike?”

“Sir, I just called to inform you that I’ve contacted the target for the second time,” you said, “Everything is going according to plan, my report will be on your desk by tonight.”

“He didn’t suspect anything?”

“No sir.”

“Okay,” he said, “Don’t move too fast, alright? We don’t want to spook him.”

“Of course.”

“And Shrike?” he said, “Good job.”

A smile lit up your face, “Thank you sir,” you said and hung up, closing your eyes and leaning back to the wall.

“Okay,” you whispered to yourself, “You got this, he’s just another target. Let the games begin.”

Chapter 5

[samanthadalton]

Star Crossed Lovers (part 14)

Do my eyes deceive me???? part 14???? we did it. im so sorry its taken forever, i will try my best to be more consistent with my writing. love yall for being patient with me it means the most. thank you, thank you. 

warnings: throughout this fic there will be mentions of substance abuse, homophobia, sexual abuse, violence, NSFW, mentions of abandonment, depression and death including suicide

reader discretion is advised

warnings: angst, swearing (lots of it) 

taglist: @drmmyrs @cloud9in @somewillwin @save-me-the-last-dance @baexpoppy @stanzoeywade @ognenniyvolk @thepotatobleh @crazzyplays @fall3ngods @helpconfusedpersonhere @clowneryme @dopeyouth @boys-girls-i-cant-help-it-baby @vonda-b-real @uselesslesbianfr @veenast @cloakanddaggerthings @somethindarker (sorry again if ive missed anyone, if you wanna be added on this taglist or my general one just let me know 😊) 

word count: 4k (i feel like its short considering how long it took me to write but i still hope you guys enjoy) (also i didnt check for grammatical errors properly so sorry if you find any) 

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7 part 8 part 9 part 10 part 11 part 12 part 13

The first steps to moving on 

“Bea please,” Poppy whispers, a repentant look creeping up to her face as she looks away from her girlfriend. “It can’t wait.” 

Bea sighs, her shoulders slumping as the last remains of her anger disseminates from her body. “Okay fine, lead the way babe.” 

Poppy stiffens that the pet name but she doesn’t let her awkwardness slip as she leads Bea to a secluded classroom, far away from prying eyes. Both her and Bea turn to look at each other, and both simultaneously open their mouths to talk. 

“I know you wanted to tell-” 

“We need to talk-” 

Both clamp their lips shut, a mutual smile playing on their lips as they look at one another. 

“You go first,” Poppy gestures towards Bea, as she moves to sit on the edge of a desk. 

Bea inhales softly, her tongue darts out licking her lips as she looks down at the ground, her face calculating. “Why does Chloe hate me?” She looks up to Poppy, her eyes boring into the strawberry blonde’s, sadness swimming inside of them, “I just don’t get what I’ve done for her to hate me.” 

Poppy sighs heavily, her eyes awkwardly darting away from Bea’s. “It’s complicated Bea.” 

“Complicated?” Bea lets out a humourless laugh, “I almost just went off on Chloe after she gave her condolences for my mom dying because I just felt she wasn’t genuine and you wanna tell me it's complicated?” 

Poppy sharply inhales, contemplating for a few moments before saying, “it’s because of your mom.” 

Bea scrunches her brows up in confusion, “my mom? What the hell does she have to do with this?” 

Poppy ineptly plays with her hands, not being able to look Bea in her eyes, “at first it was just a classist thing. When you first came to Belvoire, she just wanted to make herself feel superior over you, but in the last year you’ve noticed her getting more mean right?” 

“Right.” Bea stares at Poppy, her expression emotionless. 

“Chloe’s parents have been fighting non stop recently, and it’s been affecting her a lot.” 

Bea’s brows furrow in confusion, “what does that have to do with me or my mom?” 

“Just let me explain first before you react, please.” Bea’s eyes bore into Poppy’s for a few seconds before she nods understandingly. “Her dad cheated on her mom. A lot of times actually. But he was blackmailed by one of the women he slept with.” Poppy pauses for a few seconds, “your mom.” 

Bea lets out a shaky breath, her eyes blinking in disbelief, “no, you’re lying.” 

Poppy nervously bites her bottom lip, “look Bea-” 

“How long have you known?”

Poppy’s face scrunches up in anger, “this isn’t my fault Bea. I only found out that day I went to talk to Chloe about us. Chloe made me promise not to say anything to you-” 

“Poppy! My mom OD and I don’t even know why. And now you’re telling me she was blackmailing the St James family and it doesn’t occur to you that might have had something to do with her death?” 

“They’re not the fucking mafia Bea, jesus. They were trying to settle it quietly by giving your mom some money and make her sign some stuff so she couldn't threaten them anymore.” 

The devastating ramification of Poppy’s admission hangs in the air as the two girls let the words settle into them. “Chloe really is sorry about your mom Bea, we all are.” 

Bea sighs, staring off into space, as a few tears begin to fill up in her eyes. “I just don’t know what to do.” Bea begins sniffling, but Poppy makes no movement to console her girlfriend. Bea notices and her expression sobers, “so, uh what did you wanna tell me?” Bea sniffs a few more times, before looking up at Poppy, giving her a small encouraging smile. 

Poppy looks away, guilt creeping up on her face, as she tries her damndest not to catch Bea’s small smile on her face. “Bea…”. Bea carefully assesses her girlfriend’s demeanour, noticing the similar body language during when they first asked to take a break, she thinks back to the last couple of days, she had barely heard from her girlfriend, and now she’s not affectionate, even after she almost had a mental breakdown in the middle of the hallway and her smile drops. “We have to break up,” Poppy says, her tone so monotone and dry as if she didn’t mean the words she was saying at all. 

“I don’t understand,” is all Bea can muster, evidently hurt by Poppy’s admission. Poppy winces slightly at Bea’s tone, finally breaking her robotic demeanour as she lets out a few sniffles. “So is that it? We have to break up,” Bea retorts mockingly, “is that all I get after all these years?” 

“Bea..” Poppy reaches out but Bea immediately takes a step back, tears flooding in her eyes. 

“No,” she holds her hands up, “I don’t get it, things are going good, or at least whatever twisted definition of good we’ve made up. Where the hell did this come from?” 

“Bea my dad-” 

“Of course! Hayden Min fucking Sinclair had something to do with this. Why do you still live under his shadow? You talk all this shit about breaking out of your father’s prison and wanting to achieve your own goals but he sucks you back in.” 

“That’s not fair Bea,” Poppy interjects, balling her hands up into fists in an attempt to subdue her trembling, “my dad has given me so much and he’s threatening to take it all away.” 

“Yeah, all you have to do is get rid of me. Me or the Min Sinclair name.” 

“Bea this is the life I have, okay I’m not like you, I’m not built like you.” 

“So what? I can grow up without a dad and now without a mom but it’s okay because I’m used to pain and disappointment?” 

“I didn’t mean it like that, you have a plan, things you can achieve, I need the Min Sinclair name, I’m nothing without it.” 

“Wow.” Bea shakes her head, “So I just meant nothing?” Bea wildy throws her arms in the air, anger bubbling under the surface of her demeanour. “We’ve practically been together since we were kids. And you’re just gonna fucking throw that away? And for what? Fuck you Poppy.” 

Poppy takes half a step back, dumbfounded by Bea’s outburst. She scrunches her brows, evidently hurt, “you don’t get it Bea. Even though your mom wasn’t the best, she still supported you, even if you didn’t know about it. My dad he- my mom what would she think?” 

“Your mom? Poppy what kind of shit is your dad brainwashing you with? Your mom is dead! You have no idea how she would react to having a gay daughter, but I know she’s probably disappointed in you.” 

“Fuck you Bea.”Poppy runs out of the classroom, tears streaming down her face, leaving Bea on her own. 

“Shit,” Bea whispers to herself before throwing a bunch of punches at the wall, each more cathartic than the last until she can’t physically hold herself up anymore. Bea defeatedly slides into a chair, cradling her head in between her hands, letting the tears free fall, as reality begins setting in that she lost the one thing in the world that was her everything. Poppy Min Sinclair was her rock, the girl who she gave her heart to, the love of her life and just in a matter of moments it was over. Maybe it was too good to be true. The beautiful, perky popular rich girl and the girl who had almost nothing, complete polar opposites, it never should’ve worked. But time and time again when faced against the world they persevered so why was this time different? Poppy had chosen her namesake over the love of her life. She chose the life of glitz and glamour over the girl who gave her her entire heart. Bea feels her entire world crashing down, how much more heartbreak could she take? Was her life always going to be so hard? So full of hurt? Full of pain? She winces at the thought, her head hammering as she comes to the realisation that she understood her mother’s pain more than she thought. 

…. 

Bea hops off her bike, parking it in front of her house, as she pulls her phone out to look at the time. ‘It’s lunch time,’ she thinks to herself. After the day she had today, school wasn’t the best option for her right now. She makes her way to her front door but stops in her tracks when she realises her front door is slightly ajar. Her survival instincts kick in as she effortlessly pulls out her pocket knife, carefully pushing the door fully open. As she steps into the living room, her eyes dart to the closed door of her mother’s room, but when she hears a creaking sound coming towards her bedroom, she cautiously moves towards the source of the noise, the grip on her knife tightening. As she creeps up, she sees the door of her room half opened, a hooded figure standing by her bed with their back facing her. 

Bea stealthily sneaks up to the figure placing the knife a few inches from their throat before lowering her voice to a threatening tone, “who are you and what the fuck are you doing?” The figure gasps, dropping a bag that’s in their hands with a deafening thud before raising their hands in a sign of surrender. 

“It’s me, it’s me,” the voice whimpers out. 

“AJ?” Bea raises her eyebrows, retracting the knife from his throat while pulling down his hood with her other hand. “What the fuck are you doing?” Bea takes a step back while AJ scrambles grabbing the bag he just dropped moments before. When he turns to face Bea, his eyes are wide, filled with fear as he clutches the bag closely to his chest. 

“I have to go,” he says as he attempts to run out of the room, but Bea pulls him back, her face crumpled in suspicion. 

“No we’re not doing this, give me the bag now,” Bea snatches the bag out of his hands before he can protest and opens the zipper to find it filled with cash. She grits her teeth, anger settling into her features as she whips her head up to AJ, “is this my fucking money?” 

“Bea, I- I can explain-” 

“What the fuck AJ!” Bea throws the bag onto the bed, the cash spilling out as she jabs an accusing finger at AJ’s chest. “You’re stealing from me now? I haven’t seen you in god knows how long, you don’t call, text nothing. Even after everything that’s been happening in the last few weeks but you have the audacity to fucking steal from me? Money that I’ve spent years saving? Money that I’ve bussed my fucking ass off for, are you serious right now?” Bea’s voice is filled with rage as she’s practically screaming, her voice now thundering. AJ winces, guiltily averting his gaze to the ground, unable to meet Bea’s eyes. 

“I’m sorry about your mom Bea, I wanted to visit-” AJ croaks out.

“But you didn’t,” Bea interjects, her voice lowered but filled with hurt. “And now you’re taking money- I mean what is so important you had to steal from me.” 

AJ paces towards the bed, hanging his head in shame, when he speaks his voice is quiet, full of fear, “I’m in some bad shit Bea. These guys aren’t playing around.” 

“I told you not to fall into the wrong crowd, I warned you this shit would happen.” 

“Bea please, I’ll pay you back I just need it.” 

“No! What the fuck, when will you pay me back huh? This is my college money, I’m not letting you give that away to your crackhead friends.” 

“Bea please,” AJ clasps his hands together, his tone pleading, “I don’t know what to do.” 

“AJ I have too much shit on my plate right now, I can’t deal with this. You need to find something else, I can’t help you.” 

AJ’s face pales but he stands up, and makes his way towards the door, before leaving he turns to look back at Bea, “I’m sorry about everything.” 

Bea keeps her eyes trained on her bed where the money is sprawled all over the mattress, “yeah me too,” she replies quietly. Bea hears the front door close and she collapses to the ground, letting the tears flow. 

……

A few days later, Bea sits in her dark living room, curtains shut and lights completely off as she wallows in her sadness, drinking from a bottle of cheap beer, as she stares absentmindedly at the ceiling, so drowned in her thoughts she doesn’t hear the resounding knocks on her door until she hears a voice call out, “Bea! Are you there?” 

Bea crumples her brows, forcing herself to stand as she makes her way to the door, she wearily makes her way to her front door only slightly opening the door before poking her head out. “Veronica?” Veronica gives the girl a wide smile before pushing the door more open, ushering the figure behind her into the house too, “Carter? What are you guys doing here?’ 

Veronica looks around the dark room, noticing the pile of empty beer bottles on the floor, “yikes, drinking on your own on a friday night Hughes? That’s really sad.” Carter stands near the edge of the living room, as if he’s an explorer, his eyes darting all over the living room as he assesses this new environment. 

Bea on the other hand scowls at Veronica, “what the hell do you want Veronica, I’m not in the mood.” 

Veronica frowns slightly, pouting her lips together, “we heard about you and Poppy.” 

Bea rolls her eyes, “yeah well I’m trying to forget about her.” Bea picks up her beer bottle from the ground and makes a show by exaggeratingly drinking from the bottle until it's empty. She discards the empty bottle along with the other ones before turning to look at Veronica and Carter, “so if you’ll excuse me.” 

Veronica steps towards Bea, wrapping her hand around the brunette’s arm, “we’re not here for Poppy stupid, we’re here for you.” 

Bea raises an eyebrow, “for me?” 

Veronica turns to look at Carter, beckoning him forward, Carter breaks out of reverie and clears his throat, “yeah uh, we wanted to take you to a party.” 

“A party?” Bea looks between them confused, “I’m not that interested guys.”

“Wait, wait, wait Bea,” Veronica pleads, pulling Bea closer to her, “you’ve never been to a Belvoire party and the year is almost over, we thought we should take you to at least.” 

“I don’t know guys,” Bea says skeptically, “a lot of people don’t like me.” 

“Who gives a shit? You just had your heart broken and you need to let loose.” 

Bea sighs, pulling away from Veronica, “I don’t think it’s a good idea.” 

“Come on, it beats drinking in the dark on your own.” 

Bea sighs, dropping her shoulders, “what about uh Poppy?” 

“Poppy?” Veronica arches a brow, “her and Chloe are staying in tonight, she said she needed to catch up on homework or something.” 

Bea purses her lips together in thought before sighing,  “fine.” Veronica cheers, “but,” Bea over enunciates, “only for a few hours and if I don’t like it I’m going home.” 

“Okay, deal,” Veronica squeals, wrapping Bea in a big hug. Carter chuckles as Veronica gestures for him to join the hug, he awkwardly wraps his arms around the two girls, before pulling away. 

“Okay, I’ll wait in the car while you girls get ready. Just uh don’t take too long.”

Veronica playfully rolls her eyes as she Bea towards her bedroom, yelling back “thanks Carter.” Giddy, she rushes to Bea’s closest, assessing her clothes until she finds a short red dress hidden in the back. “This!” 

“No, no, no,” Bea shakes her head, pulling the dress out of the ombre-haired girl’s hands. 

“Why not? It would look so hot on you,” Veronica’s eyes trail down Bea’s body, as she sharply inhales. “Bea, you’re single and sexy, stop holding yourself back okay?” 

“I’m not,” Bea pushes back defensively, “I just-” she sighs heavily, “no one at Belvoire has ever seen me dressed up, I’m just- I’m nervous I guess.” 

“Then we have to show them what they’ve been missing for the last three years,” Veronica gives Bea a devilish smile as she takes the dress from Bea’s hands, sliding the dress off the hanger before handing it over to Bea. 

“Uh you gonna stay in the room?” Bea nervously wrings her hands together. 

“Why, are you offering a show?” Veronica lifts a teasing brow, noticing Bea’s cheeks redden slightly, which prompts her to let out a small laugh, “I’m kidding, don’t worry I won’t look.” Veronica makes a show of raising her hands to cover her eyes. Bea laughs as she slips out of her clothes and into the dress, she awkwardly clears her throat, grabbing Veronica’s attention. 

“Hey, uh help a girl out with her zipper?” 

“Sure,” Veronica moves to stand behind Bea, her hands ghosting around Bea’s exposed back, her breath momentarily taken away. She sturdies herself and places one of her hands on the small of the brunette’s back while the other moves towards the zipper, zipping the girl up. Bea smooths the dress down with her hands appreciating herself in the mirror, “you look gorgeous,” Veronica whispers into the shell of her ear. 

Bea’s face completely flushes red and slightly jerks at Veronica’s admission, “uhh thanks.” 

Veronica notices the awkward shift in the atmosphere, and promptly changes the subject, “so where’s your sister?” 

Bea sits in front of her mirror, a comb in her hand as she brushes her long locks, “she’s staying at a friend’s tonight.” 

“Cool,” Veronica answers back but her tone falls flat. The girls bask in the awkward silence as Bea continues to get ready but when Veronica notices Bea struggling to do her winged eyeliner she breaks the silence. “Hey do you need help?” 

Bea smiles bashfully, “yeah.” She rubs the back of her head with her hand, “sorry Poppy used to help me with my makeup.” 

“Right,” Veronica’s face slightly falls but she quickly covers it up, ushering Bea to come and sit on the bed. “Come on, I don’t bite,” Veronica bites the bottom of her lip, “unless you want me too.” Bea laughs but obliges sitting on the edge of the bed. Veronica clambers onto her lap, her thighs settling on the sides of Bea’s legs, and in response, Bea’s eyes widen in surprise but she remains glued in her spot, too shocked to move. 

“V, what are you doing?” Bea whispers, her voice attempting to come across as reprimanding but it comes out as breathy. 

“Relax, I’m just doing your eyeliner.” Veronica plucks the wand from Bea’s hand and angles herself close to the brunette’s face, as she begins drawing on the wings on Bea’s eyelids. Bea steadies herself, as she feels the heat of Veronica’s body so close to hers and when Veronica is finished with putting the finishing touches on her eyelids, she hops off Bea’s lap, making her way towards the desk, scuffling through Bea’s makeup bag before taking up her place on Bea’s lap once again. “Now I think this colour would look good on you,” 

“You don’t think it’s too much red?” 

“Oh babe, red means power, dominance, you don’t wanna be thinking about Poppy the entire night, you wanna have all eyes on you Bea Hughes.” Veronica uncaps the lipstick, her eyes burning into Bea’s lips as she carefully applies the red colour to her lips. “Perfect.” 

Bea smacks her lips together, evenly spreading the red on her lips. “Thanks V.” 

Veronica’s eyes dart to Bea’s lips, her tongue slightly running along her bottom lips before she breaks out of her reverie flashing Bea a smirk, “don’t thank me yet, thank me when you’re having the time of your life at the party.” Veronica slides off Bea’s lap, holding her hand out, “come on let’s finish up because Carter’s been waiting for a while.” Bea smiles up at Veronica, taking her hand as she lets the ombre-haired girl pull her off the bed, as they continue getting ready. 

………

Once they arrive at the party, Carter drops the girls off at the front of the huge house before telling them he will park the car. Veronica’s gaze darts to Bea, who’s nervously toying with her hands, looking up at the intimidating house, the lights blaring and as the music echoes throughout, the bass thumping in their ears. Noticing the nerves settling into her, Veronica slips into Bea's, giving her a reassuring squeeze, “hey, it’s okay, it’s just a bunch of drunk, preppy uptight teenagers, nothing you don't usually face everyday.” 

Bea lets out a small laugh, “just in a big ass house,” she jests. 

“Yeah, just in a big ass house,” she gives Bea a light squeeze as she starts pulling Bea into the house with her. Automatically, they’re met with stares and whispers, as the students look astonished at Bea, some appraising her outfit, while others are confused about her presence. “Hey, just stay with me okay?” Veronica whispers over to Bea. Bea nods, her eyes roaming the room. “I’ll get us drinks.” The ombre-haired girl gives Bea a reassuring pat on her arm and leaves her side and Bea walks into the living room, observing the difference between the vibes of the party between the north and the south. Her thoughts then move to think about Poppy, how Poppy would love going to parties in the north but Bea couldn’t find the appeal in it. Poppy. Poppy, who broke up with her. She’s interrupted from her thoughts by a tap of her shoulder, and Bea turns around to see Veronica offering her a red solo cup, Bea takes a sip and winces. 

“What the hell is this crap?” 

“Yeah for a bunch of rich kids, their taste in beer isn’t the best,” Veronica jokes, slightly nudging Bea. 

“We have way better beer in the south side.” 

“That I can agree with.” Veronica looks over to Bea who looks lost in thought, “hey what are you thinking about?” 

Bea sighs heavily, “Poppy,” she mutters. 

Veronica nods once, “right, yeah.” 

“Poppy would’ve loved a party like this, big fancy house an-” 

“Bea,” Veronica says, her tone slightly agitated, “this,” she gestures around the room, “is a no Poppy zone. That means we don’t think about Poppy, only about fun.” 

Bea nods, “fun. I can do that.” Veronica lifts her cup in the air, “what are we cheering to?” 

Veronica gives Bea a smile, “here’s to the first steps in moving on.” The girls tap their cups together before downing their drinks. “Now if we wanna get drunk, we’re gonna need a lot more of these.” 

The party is still ongoing, and Bea sits in a circle with a few girls from the volleyball team and a few of the football team and other people she doesn’t recognise while Veronica sits beside her. 

“Bea you look so pretty,” one of her teammates says. 

“Yeah Bea your makeup is literally gorgeous,” another chimes in. 

“Who knew strip tease can clean up well,” Ford jests, but Bea slumps her shoulders a little, remembering that these people are not her friends. 

Carter enters the circle slapping Ford on the head as he goes, “shut up, Hughes is cool.” Bea gives Carter a nod of appreciation before looking down at the drink in her hands. Her thoughts move a million miles a minute, but there’s a constant one stuck in her brain, Poppy.

Veronica looks over at Bea, frowning. “Hey come with me.” She stands, excusing herself from the group and Bea follows her close behind. 

“Where are we going?” 

“We’re gonna play a private game of truth or drink.” 

[chloebeale]

i’m talking loud, not saying much

rating: G || words: 5.5k

bechloe week day two—bed sharing/one bed

read below or on ao3!

***

There is nothing—literally nothing—positive about this stupid new arrangement.

For the last few years, things have only seemed to go from bad to worse for Beca. First there was her deadbeat mother abandoning her, then her overzealous father ended up moving them from their quiet, comfortable hometown in favor of shacking up with Lady Tremaine—uh, Sheila, halfway across the damn country, and Beca’s life had effectively been thrown into a tailspin.

It is bad enough that she has to share a home with Sheila and her daughter, Juliet—unfortunately Beca’s age, unfortunately much taller, much prettier, much more popular than Beca—but to have to share a bedroom with her, too? God, that is...yeah, that is just the icing on this particularly terrible cake.

Now, she is expected to spend her free time with Juliet? When she really could’ve gotten their room to herself for the night?

Seriously, that is bordering on child abuse.

“I swear to God if you embarrass me…” Juliet mutters under her breath as they make their way up the winding path toward her friend’s obnoxiously large house, effectively breaking into Beca’s pity party of bitter thoughts. A long arm outstretches to drum a balled fist against the pristinely painted wood of the unfamiliar front door, and despite her sour mood over having to bring Beca along with her tonight, Juliet pushes a bright smile to her lips the second the sound of approaching footsteps begins to chime from the other side of the door.

Beca only rolls her eyes, thumbs looping through the straps of her backpack to hike it more comfortably into place.

Why she hadn’t protested more strongly before, she really does not know.

Beca usually loves Friday nights. Considering Juliet’s social status, she generally has Friday night plans, so Beca gets their shared room all to herself. It is just about the only time she ever has to unwind, in fact, but when her dad had made a big deal about how Beca needs to try to put herself out there and make some friends in Atlanta, and Sheila had suggested Juliet bring her along to Olivia’s sleepover tonight, no amount of groaning from either soon-to-be step-sister had been enough to shut their parents up.

“You’ll have so much fun, Bec! Sleepovers are great, you’ll really get to know all of the girls!” Her dad had stated much too enthusiastically while Beca had begrudgingly thrown items into her backpack.

“I hope you know I’m calling CPS later,” Beca had grumbled as she’d climbed without haste into the backseat of his car, earbuds quickly stuffed into her ears to drown out the sound of Juliet’s overly-peppy phone conversation radiating from the passenger seat.

That same pep—totally forced, Beca would argue; she has seen what a grumpy monster Juliet really is at home—returns effortlessly as the door swings open to reveal a beautiful brunette holding a bowl of what looks to be freshly popped popcorn in one hand and a brand new rose gold iPhone in the other.

“Jules!” Olivia greets pleasantly, though her expression falls slightly as her bright gaze shifts from Juliet’s dazzling smile and toward Beca’s tightened jaw. “Oh… You weren’t joking about bringing your sister.”

“Step-sister,” Beca grumbles quietly under her breath, gaze cast down toward her beat-up looking Vans. She can feel Juliet’s heated glare burning into the side of her head without even bothering to look up.

“Nope, not joking,” Juliet responds with a pop of the P, not-so-subtly shoving Beca out of the way to breeze into the house.

With a heavy sigh, Beca pushes away one last fleeting thought of turning and running away to sleep on the streets for the night, and forces herself to shuffle inside behind her.

“Guys, Jules is here!” Olivia announces as she leads the way through the entrance hallway and toward what Beca can only assume by the number of doors they pass is one of multiple living rooms. The other sleepover attendees erupt into a chorus of Juliet’s name, before Olivia continues, “And, uh…”

“Beca,” Juliet says through gritted teeth.

“Right, yeah,” Olivia nods, “her sister.”

Beca bites back the urge to correct her again—they are not sisters, they will never be sisters—and instead offers the room of expectant eyes a forced, tight-lipped smile, before she goes back to staring dutifully down toward her feet.

All anybody has to do is look around the room for half a second to see that Beca is entirely out of place among this particular group of people. They all sport full faces of makeup and wear their hair in neat, pretty styles, while Beca hides behind a layer of questionably thick eyeliner and limp tresses that have had nothing more than a comb pulled through them all day.

Unsurprisingly, none of the activities to commence now that they are all here—Juliet loves to be fashionably late—are of any interest whatsoever to Beca. She doesn’t care to call the boys they all think are sooo cute and promptly hang up when they answer, and when she refuses to pick dare on her second turn in Truth or Dare—she shrugged and said “pass” when asked if she’d ever ‘done anything with a boy’ after picking truth in the first round—they all seem to give up on halfheartedly trying to include her, so Beca shrugs and plugs her ears with her earbuds, and sits off to the side with her back to the couch, contentedly listening to music.

Beca can lose herself for hours in music. Among all of the huge, rapid changes in her life, especially in recent years, music has been her one constant. It is that one form of solace for Beca, so she doesn’t mind being left out, nor her presence being all but forgotten until she eventually has to answer nature’s call.

“Uh, where’s the bathroom,” Beca asks Juliet with a small tap on her shoulder, thumb sweeping over the pause button on her phone’s music player.

Clearly enraged to have been interrupted from her circle of friends, Juliet stares back at her with a face like thunder. “I don’t know. Go find it,” she scoffs, offering Beca nothing more than a shake of her head, before turning back to the talkative group.

Beca simply stares for a moment, before rolling her eyes hard enough that she can practically hear them rattling in her skull, then pushes herself lazily to her feet.

It is a big house—an obnoxiously big house, in fact—so it is probable that there is at least one bathroom on the ground floor, but Beca doesn’t feel like trying every door and potentially running into Olivia’s parents in one of the other living rooms, so she decides it is safer to check upstairs.

The first door she tries leads to an extravagantly decorated but empty bedroom, so Beca promptly steps back out and closes it behind her, before moving quickly onto the next. That one turns out to be another empty bedroom, too, so Beca hopes that it will be third time lucky, and meekly tries the next door.

This one is a bedroom, too, only this time, it is not quite empty, and Beca jumps slightly as she realizes she is intruding on someone’s personal space. “Oh, whoa. Sorry,” she says quickly, widened gaze landing on the sight of red curls and a nose buried deeply in a book.

“Hm?” The redhead questions, evidently too enthralled by her reading material to have even noticed Beca’s presence beforehand. Her eyes lift to land on the stranger in her room, though, and Beca finds herself slightly taken aback by just how intensely blue they are.

“Sorry,” Beca says again, her pale cheeks heating up with a splash of what she is positive is a very obvious shade of crimson. “I didn’t realize this was—I was looking for the bathroom.”

“Oh,” the other girl nods, neatly setting down her open book on the mattress before her. She offers Beca a friendly smile despite the intrusion. “That’s okay. The bathroom is two doors that way,” she says, pointing in the right direction.

Why Beca finds herself staring, she really does not know, but she catches herself after a short moment and quickly clears her throat. “Right, got it. Thanks.”

“Mhm,” the redhead smiles, bright eyes remaining on Beca. Beca is about to leave, though she notes the way the other girl seems to be studying her curiously, before piping up with, “Are you my sister’s friend? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

“No,” Beca shakes her head, though realizes how bad that sounds and corrects herself quickly. “Uh, I mean, yeah. Or...I don’t know. My step-sister is friends with Olivia. She’s here for the sleepover, and my dad and her mom made her bring me.” As she speaks, Beca can hear just how ridiculously pathetic she sounds, and proceeds to mentally kick herself. “I guess I’m new to town or whatever.”

“Mm, that would explain why I haven’t seen you before,” the other girl nods, flattening her palms to the mattress to smoothly shift to her knees. “What’s your name? Or are you, like, peeing yourself and you have to leave right this second?”

“No,” Beca chuckles awkwardly, the bathroom almost forgotten about for a minute there. “No, it’s fine. I’m Beca,” she says. “My step-sister is friends with Olivia.”

“You said that already,” the redhead grins, to which Beca only mentally kicks herself again. “I’m Chloe, I’m actually Olivia’s step-sister, too.”

“Oh yeah?” Although she knows it is entirely possible for step-siblings to have healthy, good relationships, Beca can only assume judging from the scene before her that their situations may be somewhat similar. Chloe looks to be around their age, after all; surely she would be invited to the sleepover party going on in her home if she and Olivia were close, right?

“Mhm,” Chloe nods. “Which one is yours?”

Assuming Chloe is referring to which one is her step-sibling, Beca responds with an almost cautious, “Uh, Juliet Lyman.”

At that, Chloe immediately winces, and Beca cannot help the grin that breaks onto her lips in response.

“I’m sorry,” Chloe says with an apologetic look. “That was super mean.”

“No, it’s okay,” Beca promises with another small chuckle, this one much less awkward sounding than the last. “She’s kind of a dick.”

While she still looks a little bashful, almost like she feels that she spoke—or winced—out of line, Chloe’s stiffened shoulders ease then, and she offers Beca a gentle nod of her head. “Mm, I guess that makes sense. None of Olivia’s friends are particularly nice.”

Like something of a vampire, Beca rarely enters a room without invitation, so it is almost surprising to her that she seems to shift slowly inside now, but Chloe doesn’t seem to be put off. If anything, she only sends Beca a friendlier smile, and nods as if to tell her it is okay.

“I guess you’re not having a ton of fun down there, huh?” Chloe says somewhat sympathetically, motioning toward the door for Beca to close it behind her.

“Uh, yeah, no, I guess you could say that,” Beca frowns, following Chloe’s silent instruction to close the door. Much too focused on the pretty redhead whose privacy she accidentally invaded, she hasn’t taken much time to really study the room, but her eyes do a quick visual sweep now, and she finds that, while still beautifully decorated much like the rest of the house, this particular bedroom feels much more comfortable, much more homey than anywhere else. So as not to seem like a total weirdo, however, she brings her gaze back toward Chloe, then drops it to the book flattened on the bed before her. “What are you reading?”

“It’s called Looking For Alaska,” Chloe explains with a brief motion toward the book. “It’s really good so far. I’m halfway through and I’m dying to see how it ends.”

“Oh, right, yeah,” Beca nods. “Yeah. You should totally get back to that.”

“No,” Chloe shakes her head. “No, that’s not what I meant. I don’t exactly enjoy being locked away in my room,” her nose wrinkles. “I actually kind of appreciate the company. There’s a bathroom right there, by the way,” she motions toward the adjoining ensuite, “if you still have to go.”

“Oh, yeah. Thanks.”

Chloe flashes her another kind smile while Beca shuffles by the bed and toward the bathroom door, then disappears inside.

Unlike Chloe, who apparently appreciates awkward new company, Beca is definitely more of a lone wolf. She prefers her own space, and will generally engage in as little social interaction as possible, but she finds that she does not feel completely uncomfortable with Chloe. In fact, after being ignored for the last hour in a room full of people, she would go so far as to say she is actually kind of glad she walked in here.

Upon returning from the ensuite facilities, Beca wonders where to go from here. She wonders if it is weird to try to stick around, if she should begrudgingly go back downstairs and rejoin the party, but she finds that Chloe has pushed her book aside, and pats the mattress to invite Beca to sit.

“Are you sure?” Beca questions, though she makes her way toward the bed regardless.

“Totes,” Chloe nods. “I told you, I like the company, and you’re not having any fun down there, so.”

“True,” Beca agrees, shuffling over to plop neatly onto the end of the bed.

“Do you go to Barden?” Chloe asks conversationally, head tilted slightly and eyes trained curiously on Beca’s face. Again, she seems to be studying her, and Beca doesn’t quite understand why she is not more weirded out.

Beca frowns in response, though eventually nods her head. “Yeah, I do. I don’t really like it, though. My old school was...well, it was still high school. I guess I was just more comfortable there or whatever, though.”

“I get that,” Chloe says with a somewhat sympathetic smile. “We moved here halfway through freshman year, and I was super sad to leave my old school. It’s hard trying to fit into a new place where everybody already knows each other, huh?”

“Yeah,” Beca nods, a hard sigh escaping through her flared nostrils. “Tell me about it.” She pauses then, this time eyeing Chloe curiously in return. “Wait, but you, like, made friends since then, right? I mean, how long have you been here?”

“Oh, yeah, tons,” Chloe says with a nod of her head. “Just not Olivia’s friends. I’ve been here almost two years now.”

“So you’re a junior?” Beca asks, to which Chloe nods again. “Me too. It’s kinda weird I haven’t seen you around.”

“It is,” Chloe agrees, bright gaze still comfortably studying Beca. Eye contact has always been a difficult thing for Beca, but she finds that it is somehow easy to hold Chloe’s. “I definitely haven’t seen you at school, though. I feel like I would’ve remembered you.”

“Yeah?” Beca questions with an awkward laugh and a lift of her brow. “I’m not the most memorable of people.”

“I would’ve remembered you,” Chloe repeats, her curious expression smoothing into something of a somewhat knowing smile, under which Beca feels her cheeks rapidly beginning to heat up again. Chloe lifts a hand to motion toward Beca’s earbuds, the wire of which hangs limply down her chest. “What are you listening to?”

“Uh, I think it was David Guetta,” Beca responds with a scrunch of her nose. “I don’t remember, I turned it off before I came up here. I have Titanium stuck in my head, though, so it was probably that.”

“Titanium is awesome,” Chloe says with an approving smile as she scoots back to rest against the headboard with the pillows stacked up behind her. “Can we listen together?”

“Oh,” Beca glances toward the space beside Chloe. “Uh, sure. If you want.”

“I do,” Chloe nods, patting the empty spot for Beca to join her.

Shuffling to sit beside her, Beca arranges the spare pillows to make a backrest, then offers one of the wired buds out to Chloe, who takes it with a gracious smile, before slotting it into her ear. Beca does the same with the other, before hitting play on her phone screen. She had the volume up pretty loud before, but makes sure to turn it down a few notches as Titanium begins spilling through the buds in the place she’d left it off before.

“This was my audition song for the Bellas,” Chloe hums fondly, shoulders relaxing as she eases back more comfortably into her stacked pillows.

“The what?” Beca questions with a curious side glance.

“The Barden Bellas. It’s our school’s a cappella group. That’s actually where I met most of my friends.”

“A cappella,” Beca echoes, lips pulling inward in a failed attempt to bite back an amused smile. “Like...synchronized nerd singing?”

“It’s not nerd singing,” Chloe giggles, lightly swatting at Beca’s arm. “It’s fun. And all of the girls are super nice. We’re like a little family.”

“Whatever you say, dude,” Beca chuckles, and finds that she has very comfortably slotted into this little space beside a person who was a total stranger to her only moments earlier. It is an odd feeling for her, but it is certainly not an unwelcome one. “So, you sing?”

“I do,” Chloe says proudly. “I love to sing. Do you?” Before Beca gets the chance to respond, Chloe sits a little further upright, eyes lighting up with excitement. “Oh, you should totes audition for the Bellas!”

“Whoa, slow down,” Beca warns with another amused chuckle. “I’m not nerd singing with anybody. Besides, I don’t even sing.”

“That’s a lie,” Chloe says, “everybody sings. Whether you sing well or not is another story, but everybody sings.”

“Yeah?” Beca lifts a brow. “Not me.”

“I bet you do,” Chloe counters, motioning toward Beca’s phone where the current track is winding down to its end. “I bet when you’re alone, you turn up the volume and you belt out this song to your empty bedroom.”

“Shut up,” Beca grumbles with a fond roll of her eyes and a hint of amusement lacing her grumbly tone.

While Chloe giggles quietly, she relaxes back into the pillows again. “You would love the Bellas. You’d make a ton of friends, and it’s super easy to sing when everybody else around you is doing it,” she says, reaching down to tap on the back-skip button on Beca’s screen, effectively restarting the song. “Sing with me. This can be your audition, and if you’re good, I’ll tell the others.”

“Dude, no,” Beca frowns, shaking her head as the beginning of the song starts to filter through her one earbud again.

“You interrupted my reading time,” Chloe states with a lifted brow and a smug smirk painting itself onto her lips. “The least you could do is sing with me.”

“Sing with you? Right now? That’s so weird. You’re so weird,” Beca says, her brow lifting the same way as Chloe’s. Despite her protests, she can feel her resolve softening already. Like Chloe whose last name Beca doesn’t even know apparently just has some kind of weird, calming spell on her. It helps that, despite saying she doesn’t sing, she actually very much does—and she is pretty freaking good at it, too.

“Just the chorus,” Chloe presses, pushing herself upright again and pointing animatedly toward her phone. “Look, it’s coming up. Just sing it with me.”

Beca scowls in response, so Chloe sends her a bright, encouraging smile, and when Beca does not outright protest again, Chloe excitedly nods her head.

Sucking in a deep breath through her nose, Beca’s jaw sets for a second, but she can feel herself preparing to start singing. She has a feeling Chloe knows she is going to, too.

“I’m bulletproof, nothing to lose…” Beca starts through gritted teeth along with the song, though she softens some at the way Chloe’s eyes instantly light up all over again.

“Fire away, fire away,” Chloe chimes in, and Beca finds that she has to pause for a second, because even with the actual song filtering into one ear, she can hear how good Chloe sounds in the other. In fact, she can hear how good they both sound as they begin to effortlessly harmonize.

As the chorus ends, they both come to a stop, too, and Beca had not realized before, but it turns out that their eyes were trained on one another’s the entire time. She doesn’t quite register it until her gaze falls to Chloe’s excited smile—the same way she doesn’t register her own smile, though once she does, she quickly wipes it away.

“I knew you were lying,” Chloe says triumphantly. “I knew you could sing. And you sounded so good, too. You have to audition for the Bellas.”

In true Beca Mitchell fashion, Beca’s cheeks have heated up, though she hopes her frown will distract from the redness in her face. “What? Dude, I thought you said that was my audition.”

“So you want to join?” Chloe asks hopefully, to which Beca immediately pauses.

“I didn’t say that,” she eventually says, arms folding tightly across her middle.

“Well, I’m gonna tell the girls how good you are, and Aubrey—she’s our captain—will be on your case until you agree to join, so.”

“You’re so annoying,” Beca chuckles, sinking back against the pillows. “You’re really persistent, huh?”

“When I want something,” Chloe shrugs, trailing off to hum along quietly with the song.

“Yeah?” Beca lifts a brow. “And what do you want?”

“You,” Chloe says casually, and Beca’s mouth opens when that seems to be the end of Chloe’s response, though she pipes up again then, “to join the Bellas.”

“I—” Beca falters, and registers the way her heart rate has for some unknown reason increased slightly. She tells herself it is simply due to the impromptu duet—she may sing when she is alone, but she never does it in front of anybody, and certainly never with anybody—though she has an odd inkling that that is not solely the case. “I’ll think about it,” she grumbles, turning her focus to her phone screen.

Chloe grins brightly at that, clearly very pleased with herself. “Awes.”

For the next little while, they remain in their comfortable position side by side with their backs against the pillows, listening to Beca’s playlist and casually conversing. Much like she had found Chloe easy to be around right away, Beca finds that that same feeling only continues. In fact, it almost intensifies—it is not often that Beca Mitchell finds herself this comfortable with a new person, but she really is strangely comfortable with Chloe.

In fact, Beca doesn’t even realize how much time has passed until her phone screen lights up with a new text message notification, and she glances down with a frown when she sees who it is from.

Juliet where are you? i swear if you went home and told your dad we were leaving you out or whatever i’ll deny it and all of the girls will back me up

In response, Beca sucks in a deep sigh through her nostrils. “She’s so annoying,” she mutters, gaze flickering toward the much later time. She knows that she should probably leave, that she should go rejoin the party at which she was having absolutely no fun, but the thought of doing so is draining, and Beca sinks even further back into the pillows behind her. “God, I don’t wanna go back down there.”

“So don’t,” Chloe shrugs, glancing toward the open text message on Beca’s cracked phone screen.

“It’s, like, almost twelve,” Beca frowns, using one finger to lazily type out hanging with olivia’s step-sister in the chat bar. “You’re gonna wanna sleep, and I probably should, too.”

“You can sleep in here,” Chloe hums, stretching out her legs and wiggling her toes beneath her socks. The cartoon corgis adorning the fabric are pretty freaking adorable, though Beca totally won’t say so.

Instead, her brow crawls a little higher in response. “What, like in your bed?”

“You think I’m gonna make you sleep on the floor?” Chloe counters with a look of fond amusement.

“Uh, no,” Beca shakes her head. “Yeah, I guess that’s—dude, isn’t that weird?”

“You’re at a sleepover with a bunch of people you don’t even like, you were gonna be sharing a bed with at least one or two of them,” Chloe shrugs, then gently shakes her head. “It’s not weird, you can sleep in here.”

“Uh,” Beca pauses, thinking it over for a second. “Are you sure?”

“Totes,” Chloe nods, eyeing Beca for a moment. Her lips twist into something of an amused grin when she clearly notes her apprehension. “What, do you think I’m gonna try to make a move on you or something?”

Beca’s instant reaction is not the one she expects. She expects to splutter and for her tired eyes to shoot further open, but instead she only stares at Chloe with an arched brow. “I don’t know, are you?”

“What if I did?”

At that, Beca’s mouth hangs open slightly, the same way it had earlier. In response, Chloe only giggles brightly again, and Beca registers that there is something almost melodic about the sound. “I’m kidding,” she promises, amusement lacing her tone as she removes the earbud and begins to push herself up from the mattress. “I’m gonna get ready for bed. Go grab your stuff and come back up here.”

Although Beca’s shoulders sag with something akin to relief, she doesn’t quite understand why a wave of disappointment washes over her, too. Does she want Chloe to make a move?

Does Chloe want to?

What even is a move, exactly?

Either way, Beca attempts a nonchalant shrug as she rises from the bed, a feeling of slight dread coursing through her at the idea of having to go back downstairs, even if only to grab her things.

It turns out, however, that the worry is needless, because nobody even entertains her with so much as a glance as she enters the large living room in pursuit of her belongings. Well, nobody but Juliet, and even then it is only for her to shoot Beca a quick glare before she goes back to talking to her friends.

Deciding that it might be a little weird to change for bed in Chloe’s room, Beca makes her way back up the stairs and toward the bathroom she hadn’t gotten to before. She momentarily holds her breath as she opens the door, worried about the idea of bumping into another peppy stranger, but it turns out to be the correct room, and Beca changes and washes up quickly, before making her way back to Chloe.

“Oh, whoa—” Beca’s response is much the same as last time, except this time she lifts a hand to quickly cover her eyes, the crimson color in her cheeks rising toward the tips of her ears.

“What?” Chloe questions, evidently entirely unperturbed despite Beca walking in on her in the process of pulling on her pajama top—under which she is not wearing a bra. “Oh… They’re just boobs.”

Beca practically chokes at that, blindly making her way into the room and shoving the door closed behind her. “Dude, I don’t need to see them.”

Chloe’s amused giggle rings through the air. “Sorry. In my defense, this is my room, and I figured you’d knock before you came in,” she says, taking a second or two to adjust her pajamas, before Beca hears her gliding toward the bed. “It’s safe for you to uncover your eyes.”

That considered, perhaps sharing a bed with Chloe for the night is not the most awkward thing anymore, so although cautiously, she lowers her hand from her face, lips pulled inward as she makes her way toward the bed. “I’m guessing that’s your side?” she asks, motioning toward the spot Chloe had taken before.

“Yep,” Chloe nods, peeling back the comforter to slip beneath it. “Sometimes I curl up in a ball in the middle, but I always at least start out on this side.”

Why the mental image is so cute to Beca, she opts not to question, and instead simply slides into the other side. “Cool. My bed’s a single, so I guess I don’t really have a side.”

“Single beds are super cozy,” Chloe hums, reaching behind herself to flatten the previously propped up pillows, before shuffling to make herself comfortable.

“They suck,” Beca frowns. “I’m actually kinda jealous of you with this. Your room is, like, bigger than my dad’s house, in fact.”

“Your dad’s house?” Chloe echoes, twisting onto her side once Beca has laid herself down, too. “It’s not your house?”

“Doesn’t feel like it,” Beca shrugs, automatically twisting her body to face Chloe.

In response, Chloe sends her a somewhat sympathetic smile, so Beca only shrugs once more. “How long have you been there?”

“Too long,” Beca grumbles, sticking one arm out of the comforter to rest her palm against the pillow by her head. Her cheek rests against the back of her hand, and Beca notes that she only feels more and more comfortable with Chloe by the second—and not just because of the ridiculously comfortable mattress. “About four months now.”

Chloe seems to consider for a moment, before eventually nodding her head. “You’ll start to feel better about it soon,” she promises in a softer voice, her hand reaching out to settle delicately over Beca’s for a short moment, before sliding it away.

It is interesting, the fact that her father has told her the same thing a million times, but that each time, Beca has only scoffed in response. For some reason, though, when it is Chloe telling her, Beca cannot help but believe her, and responds with a soft sigh, followed by a small smile of her own.

“I’m gonna turn out the light,” Chloe says, before commanding Alexa to do just that. Soon, the light in the previously bright room grows dimmer, until they are engulfed in a blanket of darkness—seriously, what a relief; Juliet makes them sleep with a night lamp on every night.

Considering it is still difficult, after four months of living there, for Beca to fall asleep in her bedroom, she expects it to be the same here. It is still something she considers unfamiliar territory, so Chloe’s room should be even more so, but as the room around her grows still, she finds that her eyes begin to grow quickly heavy. The soft sound of Chloe’s quiet breathing seems to help somehow, too.

“Beca,” she hears after a moment of silence, Chloe’s voice much softer than it was before.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for walking in here tonight,” Chloe continues, and soon Beca feels a hand laying across her own once more. Her natural instinct would normally be to pull away, but she doesn’t. She doesn’t understand why, she just...doesn't. “I really do appreciate the company.”

“Yeah?” Beca chuckles quietly, her own voice growing quieter with those telltale signs of tiredness. “It’s cool. I liked it, too.”

“Mm,” Chloe hums, the tips of her fingers stroking feather lightly over the back of Beca’s hand. Again, Beca does not pull away. In fact, she actually kind of likes it. “I really hope you do join the Bellas. I kind of wanna keep you around.”

Although she is positive Chloe just wants someone to add to their singing group, something about the statement causes Beca’s heart to flutter slightly. Honestly, she is just not used to someone actually wanting her around—it is not like Juliet does, and she is pretty sure Sheila doesn’t, either—but it is particularly nice to her that Chloe wants her around specifically.

“Ditto,” she mumbles, her thumb instinctively rising to brush softly over the side of Chloe’s pinky finger.

There is a stillness to follow, a calmness that Beca is not altogether used to, but again, it is something she welcomes. Something she has been yearning for for months now, in fact. No, years.

Although she feels sleep beginning to instantly overtake her, and she really doesn’t want to break the comfortable silence, a nagging voice in Beca’s head instructs her to do so. The kind that causes her heart to race again, and Beca licks over her now dry lips as she wonders if she will actually do it or not.

“Chloe,” she murmurs quietly, a part of her hoping Chloe is one of those people who can fall asleep pretty much as soon as their head hits the pillow—but a stronger part of her hoping not. Either way, she continues in a quiet voice, “If you did wanna make a move, you can.”

There is another silence to follow, a short stretch in which Beca’s heart thunders and she wonders if perhaps Chloe is already out, before she feels soft fingers slotting through the gaps in her own, then registers her sleepy, whispered response, 

“I just did.”

[explosionshark]

how to live here!

here's a special deleted scene that was supposed to go in one of the chapters after rachel and chloe start fighting, but i never really found a place where it made sense. but i always liked it too much to delete it.

The first time Chloe had talked about hanging out in a junkyard, Max had kind of assumed she’d been joking.

She’s been here a few times already since her return to Arcadia Bay, but the novelty of it still hasn’t worn off. Chloe doesn’t seem to mind, letting her wander off, camera in hand, to explore and take photos by herself until she’s halfway through a roll of film and finally satisfied.

Max lets the sound of breaking glass lead her back to Chloe and snaps one more picture. Chloe, broken off hockey stick poised at the highest arc of a big swing, aimed at the sun-bleached head of a mannequin perched atop a splintered milk crate like a fucked up golf ball on a tee.

The arc of the swing is completed. The head goes flying with a sharp crack, landing in a pile of scrap a few feet away. Chloe holds the stick up over her head and cheers.

“You get that, Max?” she calls over her shoulder. “One for the highlight reel.”

“Got it,” Max confirms, reaching up to withdraw the Polaroid as it’s ejected from the camera. She closes the distance between them to show Chloe the shot.

“Sick,” Chloe says, and then twirls the stick in her fingers. “Y’know, I never used to allow press in here before, but maybe that was a mistake. A few more like that and maybe I can finally catch some attention from the big leagues.”

“I can’t imagine they can ignore skills like yours for very long,” Max grins, leaning up on her tiptoes and craning her neck to try to spot the mannequin head in the garbage.

Chloe grins again and mimes another swing. “Wanna take a shot? Ride out my hot streak?”

“I’m good,” Max says.

Chloe nods and shrugs and swings again abruptly, for real, putting the end of the hockey stick through the screen of a boxy old TV on the ground suddenly and loudly enough to make Max jump.

“You sure?” She props a boot on the corner of the TV to hold it in place as she yanks the stick loose. “It’s hella cathartic. You’ve always struck me as having more rage than you’re willing to own up to.”

“Do I really?” Max asks, a little alarmed.

“Maybe I’m projecting,” Chloe concedes.

They wander further, Max trailing behind as Chloe beats the ever-loving shit out of anything even vaguely breakable in her path.

“Remember when you actually played?” Max asks, after the fifteenth minute of uninterrupted smashing.

Chloe pauses, turning on her heel and drawing the bandage on her arm across her forehead to wipe away a bead of sweat. “Oh hell yeah. They called me The Destroyer.”

“No they didn’t,” Max rolls her eyes. “Only you called yourself that.”

“Me and both our dads,” Chloe points out. “Yours even made a sign.”

“Oh yeah,” Max laughs. “Y’know, I think you were the hockey hooligan kid he always wanted. I couldn’t tell if he was disappointed or relieved when I quit the team.”

Her dad was a huge hockey fan and had been elated when she and Chloe had agreed when he showed them the newspaper ad he’d found seeking players for the local youth hockey team. William and their mothers had been a little more hesitant, Max remembered, but no one enough to really object to their joining.

Chloe took to it immediately, aggressive, competitive, and already more naturally athletic than Max had ever been. Max’s tenure was only a week long, but she’d remained a devoted fan of the team long after, going along with her parents to every game, home and away.

“Relieved, I think,” Chloe speculates. “You were a really small twelve year old.”

“I was appropriately sized for twelve,” Max protests. “You were tall.”

“Pint-sized,” Chloe teases. “Microscopic. Besides, you never had the heart for it. The bloodlust.”

“I liked the skating part. But yeah, you always had more fun with it than me. Did you ever get back to sports?”

Chloe shakes her head, quick and jerky, almost offended. “I never liked sports. I liked hockey ‘cause you guys would always come to my games and stuff. But then…after…”

Chloe missed the first couple weeks of practice, after William had died. It was Max’s dad that got her to go back, at Joyce’s insistence, hoping that the sport could be an outlet, that trying to preserve as much normalcy as possible would help Chloe deal with her grief.

Max and her dad had stayed in the bleachers through that first practice without William. Chloe’s play had been sloppier, and she’d left the ice early, face splotchy and red, thick hot tears running down her face into her jersey. It hadn’t gotten easier from there. It made sense that Chloe had stopped going entirely once Max’s family had moved.

“Anyway, can you even imagine me playing for Blackwell?” Chloe scoffs, brings the hockey stick down on the windshield of an old beat up car. The first blow sends a spiderweb of cracks all through the glass. The second penetrates, a small, fist-sized hole. The third, fourth, and fifth obliterate it completely.

Max closes her eyes, chases the images of a young, grief-stricken Chloe from her mind with this new fantasy. Chloe, hair undyed, strutting through the halls in a red and white letterman jacket. Chloe doing keg stands with Logan and Zach. Chloe with girls like Victoria and Juliet hanging off her arms. Chloe completely and totally ignoring a nerd like her.

“Okay, it’s a little weird,” Max admits, feeling a little embarrassed for the irrational churning in her gut. “You’ve never really been a joiner, huh?”

“Organized sports are so not punk rock,” Chloe says obnoxiously.

“It’s kind of hard to imagine you at Blackwell at all,” Max admits. “I wish I’d come back sooner. Y’know, before you left.”

Chloe’s quiet and Max knew it was a risk to go there at all, but it feels too true to keep to herself so she keeps speaking.

“I didn’t choose to be gone, but,” is it brave or stupid to do this now, actually? Has Chloe been waiting for an apology or will this just make things needlessly awkward and uncomfortable and painful? “I mean I wish I’d handled it differently. That we’d talked more while I’d been away.”

“Yeah,” Chloe shrugs. It feels like Max is on the verge of losing her, so she hurries on before the silence between them stretches too far.

“Can I be honest with you?” Max asks, stomach twisting in knots.

Chloe raises an eyebrow and nods for her to continue.

“I kind of thought,” she pauses and winces. “I mean, I was a little afraid that after I left you just. Wouldn’t want anything to do with me. That you’d replace me.”

“Max, what the fuck?” Chloe lets the words out in a harsh exhale and Max knows that tone of voice. Knows she’s pissed off for real, now.

“I know,” Max cringes, scrubbing a hand down her face. “But, I mean, you were always the cool one, right? And you were going into high school and I was still sleeping with a teddy bear and—”

“This is such bullshit,” Chloe’s voice cracks and Max was not expecting that. “You’re not just— You can’t just replace a best friend! I fucking needed you. I was so… I needed you so much and you hung me out to dry because you were scared I’d stop thinking you were cool?”

“No,” Max hurries to clarify, feeling appropriately breathless for the desperate, drowning sensation overwhelming her. “No, not like that. I just… I didn’t know how to handle it. So, I just kept putting it off, y’know? Like with homework. Remember how many times my mom had to bail me out because I’d wait too long on finishing a project and it wouldn’t be ready by the due date? Only no one could bail me out this time. And the longer I waited, the worse I felt, the more sure I was that you hated me, that you’d scream at me and tell me to stay out of your life. And I was too scared to face that so I…”

“I never hated you,” Chloe says, face caught somewhere between fury and despair. “Fuck, for the longest time all I wanted was to leave here, to be where you were instead.”

“The night you called me,” Max cuts in gently, proud at least when her voice doesn’t shake, “when you tried to run away, I was so scared for you. And I felt guilty because I realized I was wrong, that you still wanted to be my friend, and I knew I didn’t deserve it. I cried myself sick on the ride down with my mom to pick you up. It really freaked her out. But when we got there you just hugged me and you let me hold your hand the entire way back to Arcadia Bay.”

Chloe stays silent, chewing her lip hard enough to make Max wince.

“And even after, even though we were talking again the entire time I was away I’d think about being back here instead. I think about all the years I missed with you and I get mad because it feels kind of like my fault. Like if I’d tried harder it wouldn’t have taken this long. But I can’t fix that now, I know, I’m just glad we’re here now.”

Chloe shakes her head, rough, and throws the beat up hockey stick into a pile behind her. “Max, you fucking—”

She cuts herself and stomps over and Max isn’t sure what she was expecting, but she’s definitely surprised when Chloe wraps her arms around her, drags her close until there’s almost no space between them.

As tight as the hug is, Chloe’s hands hovering over her back are gentle. She’s quiet but her breathing’s rough. It takes a long time for her to speak again; when she does her voice is shaky, quiet. “I never, ever hated you, but I was pissed at you for a really long time.”

“I’m sorry,” Max tries to say but Chloe squeezes her tighter until she falls quiet.

“I got tired of it,” Chloe says. “And it wasn’t fair, either. Not really. We were just kids. God, I fucked so many things up so much worse than that. You don’t know how bad. If you did, you’d think I’m so pathetic. You’d hate it.”

“Chloe Price, you’re so many things, but pathetic has never been one of them,” Max insists, a little startled by the steel in her voice. Chloe tenses in her arms, but doesn’t move away so Max continues, gentler, “I wish I’d been here more. I know you weren’t alone the whole time but still, if I could go back and change anything it’d be trying harder to be a bigger part of your life. It’d be not letting it take so long to get here.”

It’s stupid, she knows, it’s ridiculous to think she could have prevented any of the hard knocks Chloe had taken in her absence but the thing is she’ll never know and Max thinks that she’ll probably always feel responsible somehow.

“God, imagine if we’d had a few years together at Black-Hell,” Chloe says and releases her, finally. She stays close, pushes some hair out of Max’s face. “We would have gotten into so much trouble. Me, you and…” She trails off with a wince but doesn’t linger. “You could have cheated off my science papers. I’d trade you rides around the Bay for homework.”

“Hey,” Max laughs. “Presumptuous. How do you know I would have compromised my morals like that?”

“Oh, you would have,” Chloe says, laugh all low and breathy. “When have you ever been able to say no to these baby blues?”

She bats her lashes facetiously, but the blush staining Max’s face is very real. “Okay, whatever. What else would we have done?”

“Oh, pranks,” Chloe says. “No doubt. We would have pranked it up so hard on those nerds. I always had this idea about semi-permanent hair dye and Victoria’s shampoo bottles, but I never lived in the dorms. And for some reason, Rachel refuses to be my inside man on this one.”

“I’d be down,” Max blurts out, not sure what the sudden pained look on Chloe’s face could have been leading to, but desperate to head it off.

“Wait, for real?” Chloe asks, appropriately distracted and Max realizes suddenly that her hypothetical assent to collusion had just been offered in practice.

“Uh, I mean—”

“No take-backs,” Chloe crows, gleefully. “Holy shit, dude, yes. Okay, I’ve got it worked out pretty well, this is something I’ve been sitting on for a few years at least. First, we’ll need a distraction…”

Chloe’s plan is elaborate, but thorough, and by the time she’s done laying out the details Max isn’t sure she’ll be able to follow through, but she does know that whatever lingering doubts about their friendship she’d had this morning were founded in one-sided insecurity.

“Let me sleep on it,” she says, finally.

“Max,” Chloe whines. “You promised.”

“I did not.”

“I mean, practically.”

“No, I didn’t.”

It’s almost like being a kid again, arguing about something pointless under the midday sun, a little dehydrated but having too much fun together to do something sensible like go back inside. Max has missed this for so long.

She’s deliriously happy she won’t ever have to miss it again.

[chronicallylatetotheparty]

The "Marinette is in charge of a class trip and has to suffer at her classmates whims, finally snapping and getting her cruel, well-deserved revenge on everyone" plotline can die now. I see it and I just want to yeet Saltinette out of the story so she can stop warping the world around her and everyone else can get a nice field trip arranged by the teachers and the school, as is canon, and Saltinette doesn't get to abuse her authority to make people suffer.

@flightfoot So! . . . My brain took this as a challenge apparently.

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

"Alright class! Settle down." Mme. Bustier clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "Now, the school field trip to, uh, the beach?"

"Yeah, mine says beach too." Alya held up the script and nodded for the teacher to continue.

"Right! Remember to-"

"AHHHHH!"

"Juleka, that's not in the script." Mme. Bustier waved her copy for emphasis.

"Sorry, Mme. Bustier!" Rose supplied while comforting her girlfriend. "It's just- AHHHHHH!"

"That is it! What!? What is with the screaming!?" Chloe demanded.

Rose pulled one of her hands that covered her face and pointed at the script that had fallen open. "S-S-Saltinette's in the script!"

Pandemonium erupted as the class protested.

"Quick Markov! Run away before she reprogrammes you again!" Max yelled, holding the window open for his friend.

"Ugh! Why her?" Chloe pulled out her phone to post about how unfair it all was online. "She's even more intolerable than Dupain-Cheng! Always saying we're friends and telling me to agree with everything she says and-" she shuddered, "expecting me to be nice!"

Alya was shaking her head and making an ex with her arms. "Uh-uh, no way. This is not in my contract!" . . . Seeing Nino wavering in his seat Alya brought the trashcan over.

Nino emptied his breakfast into it as his girlfriend rubbed circles on his back. He lifted his head just long enough to say: "God, I hate her." And then buried his face back down.

Adrien stared off into space, eyes blank as his inner voices argued.

The one that looked suspiciously like a supervillain was grinning. "Aren't you tired of being nice? Don't you just want to Murder?"

The Chat Noir-ish one tapped his chin before pointing at the supervillain. "You know? He's got a point."

"Guys, guys!" Glasses Adrien protested, wrapping an arm around their shoulders. "We've been through this. Of course we're going to murder!"

"-Adrien? Dude!"

Adrien snapped out of his thoughts as he realized that the bane of their existence had entered the classroom. He turned toward Nino. "So we all agree that it's only murder if it's a person, right? Anthropomorphic embodiments of selfishness and revenge fantasies don't count?"

Saltinette draped herself dramatically onto Mme. Bustier's desk. "Oh! See how cruel and mean spirited my former crush is!"

Adrien rolled his eyes. "Get over yourself."

"Is this- Wait, hang on." Saltinette leaned her head back and held up an eyedropper. "Ah, there. That's better. Is this any way to treat your class representative?" Saltinette wailed with tears in her eyes.

"After I slaved away at fixing that old junkyard bus and raised enough money to pay the driver, 'cause he only accepts payment in quarters, by having a sale at the bakery and coordinated everyone's schedule so we could all go together!?"

Mme. Bustier flipped through the script. "It doesn't say that."

"Oh! How Lila has shone your true colors!"

Alix turned her head from left to right. "Dude, she's not even here!"

"Even Alix has turned her back on me!" Saltinette continued, holding the back of her hand to her forehead. "An unforgivable crime unless she gets on her knees and begs me for forgiveness and helps me ruin everyone else's lives and then maybe, possibly, eventually I will deign to give her the Bunny M-"

"Marinette SMASH!!!"

In the blink of an eye Saltinette went sailing through the window and disappeared into the sky with a twinkle of light.

Marinette brought her smoking fist, which she had just used to uppercut Saltinette out of the story, to her lips and blew on it.

"Sorry, I'm late!" Marinette stumbled before righting herself with a grin. "I needed a running start."

The classroom erupted into cheers.

Adrien smiled proudly at her. "Go out with me, My Lady?"

"Absldbsbdj! Adrien! That, um, isn't in the script!" Marinette protested despite having sent the "main character" into the stratosphere, cheeks tinting.

"Sure it is!" Adrien smugly flourished his copy of the script to the page they were on. He'd attached a sticky note to it that said, 'Adrien asks out his future wife'.

"Eeeeeeeee-" Marinette's face became even redder as her grin widened.

"Nice going, sunshine," Alya teased. "You broke her!"

"What a paws-itively un-fur-tunate occurrence."

Marinette blinked as a terrible realization dawned. "Oh, no."

Adrien grinned as he pulled her into his side. "Oh, yes!"

Mme. Bustier smiled at the new couple while throwing whole pages of the script into her new shredder. Right then. Taking out her red pen she began to make corrections for what remained.

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

"Ha! Ready to give up, handsome?" Marinette sent the volleyball back over the net.

"You wish, beautiful!" Adrien slid on the sand and managed to keep the ball in play.

"Heads up, babe!" Nino called as he shot it back to the other side.

"For me? You shouldn't have!" Alya jumped for the ball and sent it spinning onto the sand, to the groans of the boys.

"Aw, look at them!" Rose cooed from her spot next to Juleka. The bright pink towel and umbrella clashing with Juleka's black beach hat and swimsuit. "They're adorable even on opposite teams!"

"I know. Horrible isn't it?"

Rose giggled. Juleka sometimes liked to pretend romance was icky 'for the aesthetic'. Personally, Rose thought the matching necklaces her girlfriend had bought them were plenty romantic. But who was she to ruin Juleka's fun?

Her attention wandered to the water where Max and Markov were enabling helping Kim with something.

"You sure you're up for this little guy?" Kim asked.

"I appreciate your concern but I assure you my waterproofing will keep me quite safe!" Markov replied.

Max nodded, adjusting his prescription goggles. "Markov will time your swim and measure how well you've improved."

"Then what're we waiting for?" Kim plunged underwater with a splash. Markov following after him.

Ivan gave a warning glare in their general direction before turning back to Mylene. Who was floating happily in a tube float.

Sabrina gazed wistfully from where she held Chloe's tanning mirror. Chloe herself could be heard snoring.

"Psst! Sabrina!"

Looking around, she spotted Alix behind some large rocks. Blinking, Sabrina pointed at herself.

Alix rolled her eyes. "You see any other Sabrinas around here? C'mon!"

Sabrina stood, paused, opened up the Queen Bee themed umbrella so Chloe wouldn't sunburn and hurried to catch up.

Nathaniel chuckled from his perch on the rocks as he continued sketching.

"Okay, I have a plan." Adrien announced.

"Is it an actual plan or is it one of your regular plans?" Nino asked.

Adrien summoned as much indignation as he could- "Rude," -and turned back to the game without telling Nino the plan.

"Wait, bro, c'mon!"

"Too late!"

The volleyball flew back and forth as both teams went all out. Marinette saw her chance, reached for it and-

"Hey, Marinette."

Adrien's hair glistened in the sunlight, eyes smoldering as he gazed into her soul. His soft lips curling into a playful smirk and-

Marinette felt sand burst all over her hair as she fell.

Instantly she was back on her feet. "Cheater! I call cheating!"

Rose laughed good-naturedly, knowing that Adrien had just invited a reckoning onto himself. "Poor Nino."

Kim burst to the surface. "Ahhhhhh! What is it? Get it off!"

"Please hold still so I may assist you!" Markov zoomed around Kim, trying to use his arm to pull some brown thing off of him.

"Kim, it's just seaweed!" Max yelled.

The corners of Juleka's lips twitched. "Tragic." She clicked her pen and wrote something down in her notebook.

Rose smiled and offered a lick of their icecream.

Ivan narrowed his eyes at the commotion but just snorted and went back to making sure Mylene didn't drift off.

Sabrina straightened from where she leaned over a tide pool. "What was that?"

"Just Kim being dumb again," Alix replied dismissively. "Ooh! There's a good one!"

"Making Marinette angry is a terrible plan!" Nino panted.

Adrien just grinned. "How can she be angry when her boyfriend looks like this?" He struck a dynamic pose.

Marinette missed her swing. Again. Glaring at her smug cat of a boyfriend she rose to her feet. "That's it." Marinette pulled out her pigtails, letting her hair fall. "The gloves are off."

Adrien stared openmouthed as the next volley sailed centimeters past his face. A gleam entered his eye. "Game of cat and mouse?"

"We'll see whose the cat this time!"

"Uh, we're still here y'know," Alya reminded them.

Blushing sheepishly all four resumed their game.

Taking a sip of her non-alcoholic cocktail Mme. Bustier put the finishing touches on the script. That done she tossed it aside and smiled at her students enjoying themselves. All was as it should be.

[unchartedthelostlegacy]

surprise

I know that jealousy’s a perfect waste of time, crooned Dessa from the speakers. 

Truth be told, Nadine didn’t know how she could still hear it from the other room, what with two sentient Premier League jerseys masquerading as her cousins Matthew and David proceeding to destroy the apartment in their new cleats.

“Lekker!” shouted one or the other now, as the ball hurtled out of Nadine’s bedroom and she heard a thud from within. The boys clack-clack-clacked out into the living room as the ball hit the table’s corner. Nadine, on the couch, flicked at it with her paperback, knocking it away.

But left to my devices...

“Tie your shoe, Matthew,” Nadine called, turning a page. David giggled as he caught the ball on his sweat-drizzled forehead, his brother ducking to lace the studded Adidas boot. Not an indoor soccer shoe, let alone an indoor shoe--but the smile on each boy’s face when they ripped into their presents had been enough to convince her to let it slide.

...I’ve spent far too long wasting mine...

The taller, quiet boy on the same couch piped up. “That song is sad, Nadi.”

“When did you learn English?”

Boitumelo smiled at her, secretively. As usual he had stolen someone’s baby, and the child’s bubbling laughter in his arms was another reason Nadine wondered why she could still hear the music.

Some children loved cats or dogs, but Boitumelo’s favorite animal was babies. He wanted to be a pediatrician when he grew up, and everyone whose baby started to cry at the braai would soon find him at their side miraculously calming it. He was the baby whisperer, and instead of needing to be looked after like the others, he had volunteered to help Nadine with the child-avalanche while most of her aunts went to the movies.

“How long has it been?” Nadine put her book on the table, chuckling. “Stand up, let me see how you’ve grown.”

“Nooo,” Boitumelo said, but he did anyway, cradling the baby in his left arm. Nadine held his shoulders, scrutinizing him like a diamond. 

The effect was that Matthew and David paused their natural disaster. They flanked him, standing on tip-toes. A laugh tumbled out of Nadine as she let go. “Not a contest, ja! I see you two every week, ‘course he’ll grow faster!”

The child knocked on his chest lightly with the hand that wasn’t supporting an infant. “It’s because I am Motswana,” he said with a serene smugness.

“Hey!” Matthew punched his shoulder “You can’t even speak Tswana!”

“Don’t hit him,” Nadine said sharply. “You want those cleats locked up in my safe?”

Matthew pouted, and Boitumelo merely secured the baby, indifferent.

David hugged him.

Maybe they should be together more after all, Nadine thought. Maybe I’m a bad influence on these ones.

“C’mere, Matthew. Help me make lunch.”

“Aww, no!”

Nadine gave him a stern look as she walked to the small kitchenette. She could at least keep an eye on the other kids over the counter, and set their plates out on it when they were done. Matthew followed, cleats making sad clack-clacks on the tile. 

He preferred this punishment to losing them, but not by a lot.

“We don’t hit our family,” Nadine murmured as he sorted the rice beside her. She’d set the lamb, the tomatoes, the onions on the counter and began working on them with the knife. “Not even if we’re jealous.”

“I can do that,” Matthew said. He was pointing at the meat.

“Can you do it safely?”

“Nadi! I do it at our house!”

Nadine chuckled. “You might--” and then stopped, frozen, because someone had knocked on the door.

To the boys, this was perfectly ordinary. Knocks happened to doors. But Nadine wasn’t expecting anyone, and her first thought was the Desert .5 in the safe. The next was the fact that the kids were all closer to the door.

“I will answer,” Boitumelo said in Tswana, flashing a smile at Matthew, who wrinkled his nose.

“Boys, I will,” Nadine said, washing her hands at breakneck speed, snatching the hand-towel and moving around the counter. “Boitu, sit down, the baby--

But the boy smiled that same smile at her as he slid open the lock and tugged it open, and English--CNN-newscaster English, for crying out loud--poured from his lips. “Hello, how can I help you?”

Nadine held her breath as she walked quickly, heart pounding, and her hand was just brushing the safe when another voice answered Boitumelo in the same language. With an accent.

A very familiar accent.

“I’m...sorry, I must have the wrong house.”

What...the hell...are you doing here, Frazer?

The sight of the beautiful Indian-Australian and her red sweater and faded skinnies put David and Matthew into a competing orbit. They crowded around the front door behind Boitumelo, David ducking under the baby to look at her. Nadine paced out from beside the door and murmured as she kissed the top of all three heads, “I told you not to talk to strangers, ja?”

“’Stranger’,” Chloe said, eyes narrowing as she shook her head, “Nice to see you too, ‘stranger’.”

“Is she selling us something?” David asked, confused, and Nadine cracked into chortles, causing Chloe to blink in confusion.

“She is your friend, Nadi? You are very pretty, miss. My name is Boitumelo,” said the baby-whisperer, again in English. “This is David and Matthew, and I am looking after Lavi,” he nodded once toward the child in his arms. Boitumelo was proud of his charges. Lavi was looking at Chloe with possibly the widest eyes of all the boys, but it was close.

“Oh nice to meet you! I’m Chloe. Funny of you not to introduce me, Nadine. Stop being grumpy, I know you want a hug.”

Nadine shook her head as she stepped back, and the boys followed her lead, eyes glued to the woman who stepped inside and wrapped their grown-up in an embrace.

“You’re either late,” Nadine muttered, raising her arms to hug Chloe back after a moment, “Or you show up unannounced.”

“I wanted to surprise you.”

“You wanted to be a selfish--”

“Careful, children present,” Chloe said brightly. Nadine shook her head again, releasing her treasure hunting partner a bit reluctantly in spite of herself.

But Matthew and David--English proficiency be damned, they spoke FIFA--grabbed and energetically shook her hand, insisted on showing their moves off, knocked over the basket of garlic freestyling with the ball, somehow got it on top of the fridge. Having curled up on the couch, Chloe gamely tried to fight her laughter. Nadine set a can of Castle lager from the fridge on the table in front of her and went back to the kitchenette.

Where she found Boitumelo finishing sorting the abandoned rice, the baby esconced in the high chair by the counter.

“Nadi, I want to travel with you and meet people too,” he said softly in Tswana.

“Oh, no, I don’t think so. No, you’re staying here and getting good in school.”

“But, when I am older,” he said. “You meet all sorts of people, don’t you? I want to go to America like you did.”

“Yes,” Nadine sighed. “I want you to go there too. But only if you want to, because you can study here too, Boitu.”

God, she hated thinking of Boitumelo’s future already. He was older than the soccer hellions, but no, was he going to be off to university that soon? Where had the time gone?

Lavi whined, and Nadine opened his little hand to give him a slice of tomato to hold. He squished it immediately and brought it up to his face.

“Why did you do that?” Boitumelo was laughing at her.

“Ja, this is how he develops fine motor control,” Nadine said, returning to chopping. “I’ll boil him an egg and chop it up for him too. He needs the omega-3s.”

It didn’t occur to her that they had switched back to English until she saw Chloe had snuck in behind them--the woman did have talent in that regard--and was leaning on the fridge, beerless.

“What a well-behaved child,” Chloe remarked.

“Please forgive her,” Nadine muttered with a groan.

“Oh I--I didn’t mean--Nadine what--for God’s sake, what did I say this time?”

Boitumelo was laughing as he rolled up his charge’s sleeves, and Nadine finished dropping the ingredients into the pot.

Chloe said, defensively, “I just never saw a boy help with cooking like that. Honestly.”

Boitumelo, for once, was speechless. He met Nadine’s eyes as her lip curled; it wasn’t that Chloe meant to offend. She was just...well...Nadine didn’t know all of what Chloe was yet, other than beautiful and impulsive and courageous and deeply lucky to compensate for it all. Blunt. Maybe that was the word. Both the opposite of sharp, and capable of impact, in good and bad ways.

“Nate didn’t even make you dinner?” Nadine flashed her a grin as she patted Boitumelo’s shoulder.

The effect on Chloe was instant, as in, the moment it took Nadine to press a couple of buttons on the rice cooker, Chloe’s whole face had turned red. Her perfect rows of teeth--how she hadn’t lost any when Nadine had given her a fist-shaped parting gift during their big fight in India, only God knew--were visible in a line.

“I’m sorry, Boitumelo,” she said with a swallow. “I didn’t mean that. It looks like I said something...wrong.”

“Oh, it’s all right,” the boy was marveling at her. “It is just normal in our family. Maybe it wasn’t like that in yours.”

Oh.

This was why Nadine couldn’t stay angry at Chloe long. It was less guilt and more that her heart went out to Chloe, as she brushed back past the woman to the sink muttering, “Go on, have a sit and drink.”

“In front of the children,” Chloe said pointedly.

Nadine scoffed “Think you can handle a lager.”

“Let me do something.”

Because Chloe had been an only child, and she had lost her father, and Nadine wasn’t sure if he had helped cook.

[just-random-imagines]

Opposites Aca-Attract

IMAGINE: Pieter Krämer shows his interest in you and your friends, the Bellas become protective over you. Stacie is the only one who encourages you to go for it. WORD COUNT: 1.6k WARNINGS: N/A

“What the hell does that German guy think he’s doing?” Chloe demanded.

Fat Amy and Beca looked to the corner of the room where you sat. Just a few feet away, Pieter fidgeted with his shirt. Once he found it satisfying, he advanced towards you. At the sight of it, Beca balled her fists.

First DSM won the Riff-Off and rubbed it in the Bella’s faces. Now one of their leaders was going to brag about it to Beca’s sister. Big no-no right there.

Fat Amy, seeing this anger, held the singer back. “As much as I want to beat ‘em too,” the Australian stated, “we have to watch and see what that Kraut does.”

Huffing in frustration, Beca crossed her arms and glared. “He better not do anything.”

-

“And who are you?” You heard someone ask you.

Turning around, you see one of the Das Sound Machine members approaching you. His blue eyes seemed to stare you down almost menacingly as you search for an answer.

“Uh… What?” You asked him, confused that this god-like man was even speaking to you. Rolling his eyes, the singer proposed another question.

“You came in with the Bellas but did not accompany them in song. What is your relationship with them?  He asked.

Playing with your fingers, you shrug. “My sister is in the group and she invites me to every event. I’m their personal cheerleader, I guess.”

“Your sister is a Bella?” The German questioned. “I would never have guessed.”

“Because I’m not as talented as them?” You counter. 

“Of course not,” the man replied, taking a seat next to you. Unfazed, you let him explain himself. “You’re too beautiful. Their looks could never match up to yours.”

Instantly, your cheeks heated. Why did your friends hate these guys again?

“Ah! You’re the one who came in with Tiny Mouse,” Someone exclaimed. You and your guest turn around to see the other leader of Das Sound Machine approach you.

“Hi!” You politely greet her, offering a hand. She glances at it before turning to her friend.

“Pieter, I need a word with you.” As if on cue, a handful of Bellas approach you. Including your sister.

“Y/N,” Beca blurted. “We’re leaving. Get your stuff.”

“Must you go so soon, Tiny Mouse?” The female German asked innocently, barely hiding her condescending tone. “I thought you were having fun forgetting your loss?”

There it was.

“You are so tall!” Your sister word vomited. “But it doesn’t make you ugly! It just makes your face easier to look at!”

You and the Bellas look at her questioningly, but she waves you off. “You know what I mean! Let’s go!”

Fat Amy grabs your hand and gently tugs you away. Before you can get a suitable distance, Pieter calls you. 

“Wait, Y/N!”

The girls, including the DSM leader, looked at the singer. Ignoring their burning gazes, he held out your phone.

“Don’t forget this Schön,” Pieter told you quietly, placing your cell in your hand. The blonde glared at him angrily before tugging him away.

“What did he just call you?” Beca demanded. “I’ll beat all their pretty faces in if-”

“I think he was trying to compliment her,” Stacie commented, her nose quickly scrunching up afterward. “Does that make him off limits Y/N?”

“It does,” Chloe answered for you. “If he is with Das Sound Machine, he is off limits. Even to you Y/N.”

“Why?” You ask, genuinely curious. “Technically, I’m not a Bella so the rules don’t apply to me.”

“Girl,” Cynthia Rose grabbed you by the shoulders. “You’re family. And they seem like a-holes to tear our family apart. We can’t let them.”

Taking it in, you slowly nod. “You’re right,” you agree. “Chicks before dicks.”

As the team cheered you on, you couldn’t help but sneak a glance towards the back of the room.

Das Sound Machine had huddled together in what seemed to be a heavy conversation. The group surrounded their leaders as the female quietly scolded Pieter. 

As if sensing your attention, the tall German looked your way. He sent you a small smile, one that quickly sent you reeling. His smile turned into a frown when the Bellas dragged you away.

A certain singer had not ignored this.

-

“You’ve got the hots for Pieter!” Someone squealed in your ear.

Dropping your phone in surprise, you look at Stacie. “What are you talking about?” You ask her, feigning innocence.

Rolling her eyes, she quickly snatched your phone. “Hey!” She pulls up your search history and proudly shows it off with a smug grin.

Pieter Krämer Das Sound Machine

Pieter Krämer

Pieter Krämer relationship? 

Pieter Krämer Boyfriend? 

Pieter Krämer Girlfriend? 

“How’d that get there?” You say unconvincingly. Scoffing, Stacie plopped down on your bed.

“You’re into him!” She stated. “And he’s into you! That’s so cute.” She clapped her hands. “They also forbid you guys to go out with each other! You guys are Romeo and Juliet cute!”

“They die at the end,” you tell her. “How is that cute?”

Stacie placed a hand over your mouth. “This is real life. You guys won’t die. Hopefully,” she added the last part under her breath.

“Another thing, how do you even know he likes me? The girls said-”

“Trust me,” she stated. “People think I’m just a pretty ditz, but I know when sparks are being made. And girl, you and Pieter looked like a damn firework.”

“Why aren’t you against him like the others?” You ask her.

Smirking, she points to her crotch. “Nothing is off limits to my boy. And I’m not as prejudiced as the others are.”

“I’m glad,” you tell her honestly.

Giving you a friendly smile, Stacie suddenly claps her hands once more. “I almost forgot!” She screeched.

Shaking your head, you glare at her. “It better be something important or I swear to God-”

“Remember what he called you at the Riff-Off?” She interrupted.

“Yeah,” you reply. “Sounded like Shawn or something? It was in German, so I didn’t understand what it meant.” Stacie’s wide grin alerts you she knew more than she was offering.

“Spill.”

-

The Bellas cheered happily as they realized they had won the World Championship. To celebrate their victory, they had returned to their resting area in the back. You, Benji and Jesse, greeted them all and cheered.

“I’m so proud of you big sis!” You congratulated Beca. “You were amazing!”

“I’m glad you could come,” she responded, giving you a hug.

“So am I,” you reply.

It was hilarious, actually. You weren’t planning on going in the first place, but a day before the Bellas were to leave; you received an envelope with a ticket to Copenhagen. It had no return address, but you had a suspicious feeling it was from Pieter.

What gave it away? Maybe the card inside that only had For You Schön written on it.

“Hey Y/N,” Stacie suddenly called you over. Giving a quick goodbye to your sister, you rush over to your friend.

“What’s up?” You ask her. Without a word, she hands you a small basket of mini-muffins. “Why-”

“Don’t ask,” she interrupted. “Just take this to your friend and have a little chat.” When you don’t move fast enough to her liking, Stacie quickly pushes you away towards a certain direction.

“Go!”

Playfully rolling your eyes, you make your way towards a group of very disgruntled Germans. A few DSM members sent you a few curious looks your way, but mostly, said nothing.

A lonely Pieter sits in front of a makeup stand as he wipes his eyes with a rag. “I think you missed a spot,” you tell him.

Surprised, the singer quickly spun around. “Y/N,” he exclaimed. Running a hand down his face, Pieter gave you a small smile. “Hello Schön,” he formally greeted you.

“So why do you think I’m beautiful?” You ask him shyly.

The German chuckled as he hid his grin. “How can I describe perfection?”

“You could use something else, like someone who is actually beautiful.”

Seeing that you would not change your mind, Pieter changed the subject. “What are the baked goods for?” Remembering the treats, you offer him the basket.

“I hoped that I could use these as a peace offering,” you tell him. “So maybe you won’t hate me because of my friends?”

Taking the basket, Pieter set it down on the table before standing up. You don’t remember him being a giant but goddamn; he was tall.

“I am not mad,” he stated quietly. Slowly taking your hand, he holds it against his fishnet covered chest. Between you and me, why have the shirt when it covered nothing?

“I am surprised you came to Copenhagen, I did not think you would come. I believed I would never see you in person again. But you had to prove me wrong.”

“D-did I?” You stutter. “I just wanted to say thanks. It would have been very boring to just watch you online.”

“Is that all you wanted to do, Schön?” Pieter asked you, leaning forward. “Watch me sing?”

“I-I guess,” you say. “I didn’t really think this through.” Your blush worsens as the singer cups your face.

“Who really does?  He doesn’t hesitate to press his lips against yours.

The kiss is sweet, much like Pieter. 

Getting lost in the moment, you’re the first to pull away when you hear someone clear their throat. You and Pieter turn to see Beca and the rest of the Bellas eyeing the two of you dangerously.

“Who’s ready to hide a body?” Fat Amy asked the girls.

“Just another weekend for me,” Lilly whispered.

[multifics-canary]

Marinette's New Shield ch. 3

Ch.1 ch.2

A/n: guys thank you so much for waiting patiently on this :'D it means a lot!!! Fair warning, it's a cliffhanger. Enjoy! I dont own miraculous ladybug

Marinette was exhausted. Ruby had almost been Akumatized hours ago, but managed to not turn and keep the akuma. After that whole ordeal, she had told Chloe to take the girl home to rest. The plan she had to expose Lila was practically gold, but it also involved practically destroying the ladyblog.

Alya worked so hard for that, she would be crushed.

And yet it wouldn't have been such a problem if she checked her own sources and asked Ladybug herself. The Culpa siblings practically spoke in her head, shielding her mind from all the negative things. Ruby seemed younger than Felix, almost the same age as Adrien, but she was fsr more mature in every way. If Marinette didn't recieve the miraculous, she would bet Ruby would've gotten it.

Speaking of which.

"Tikki?" The young girl called out to the red kwami, surprised by the silence. A few seconds passed, before the little red blur appeared before her. "Tikki! I got worried you were captured or something."

The little god giggled, kissing her chosen's cheek. "I was just out getting a bit of fresh air. You should check on your friend. You don't know what effects the akuma does, especially if she was still touched by the akuma."

"You're right." The noirette said, going to stand up, only to hear her phone buzz with a text. Looking at her kwami, she picked up the phone, seeing that it was a message from Marc.

Marc 1:34pm: hey mari. I know we havent talked in a bit, I went on a family trip and got really sick coming back. I was talking to Nath about all of us meeting and reviewing the next comic to publish, but he says some girl named Lila told him that she could talk to a famous writer-- who's dead mind you-- about helping us publish it. Nath was also skeptical, given that I told him the writer was dead. Nath wants to verfiy something with you, so is it cool if we meet up tomorrow? Sorry for the long text.

Marinette read and reread the text. Nathaniel wasn't one of the active Lila worshippers, but believed it to some degree. But thanks to Marc, she was probably going to get a friend back. She held back tears as she stared at the text, feeling Tikki hug her cheek.

"Marinette its okay. Let it out." The little kwami said softly. And for the first time since Lila came back, Marinette cried, letting go of all the stress she's held.

Losing her friends.

Being called a bully.

...Having someone believe her.

For the first time in a while, Marinette cried for herself.

°·°·°·°·°·°·°

Ruby laid down on her bed, soft music playing on her speakers as she wrote to her brother, not leaving out any detail of the plan and asking what should be changed.

After sending the email, because her brother liked to keep it professional, she moved her laptop, opting to grab a book and read. Stretching, she stood from her bed and went the small shelf she had and grabbed a book, only to throw it in a direction when she felt someone in the room. She turned, seeing Ladybug smile at her while holding the book in her hand.

"Ladybug, I didn't expect you to arrive." Ruby said, raising an eyebrow at the heroine. The spotted hero just smiled, walking over and handing the book.

"I wanted to check up on you. Though it has been a few hours since you were almost Akumatized, there could be some effects that could happen later." Ruby nodded, going over to her bed. She sat on the edge and gestured for Ladybug.

"It would also be a bit suspicious if Ladybug came to someone's place in the middle of the day if there wasn't an akuma." The girl crossed her arms, seeming relaxed. But Ladybug knew Ruby was still a bit on edge.

"How are you feeling, honestly?" Ladybug asked, staring at Ruby. The girl in question sighed, looking down.

"A bit shaken. I know magic affects how you look and sound, but with Hawkmoth it was different. I know him, I'm almost positive about it. But I can't bring myself to get any evidence without hurting people I care about. I've always been able to have a sixth sense on everything, that's why they called me the more sensible one out of me and my brother." Ruby explained, fiddling with her sleeve.

Ladybug was in shock. Ruby probably knew who Hawkmoth and could possibly end this terror on Paris. But she knew she can't force her to reveal anything. Instead, she opted to listen, thinking that she could possibly a good holder in some near future, if she talked to Fu about it.

"I don't know if you know Marinette," Ruby started, grabbing Ladybug's attention, "but she's a good person in a bad situation. The tones she gives off are both spring and storm and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if that storm came to prove everyone wrong. All I want to do is help her."

"The plan will work, Ruby." Ladybug said, smiling softly as she placed a hand over Ruby's, causing the girl to look up. "Sure it'll take a bit more time, but talk it out with those you trust. Chat Noir and I will back you up as well." The young Culpa relaxed, eyes shinning brightly as she stared at ladybug.

"Thank you Ladybug."

"Of course."

°·°·°·°·°·°·°

Next day

"Rubes!" Ruby looked up to see Lila walk over to her, a sweet smile on her face, though her eyes held a dangerous glint. In the distance, she saw Alya and the other mindless sheep stare, as if encouraging Lila to talk with her.

The girl sighed, closing her notebook and standing up, just as Lila reached her. "Hey Rubes. The others encouraged me to talk to you about Adrien. So I was hoping we could compromise." She said sweetly, but Ruby could feel the bad air around her.

"How about we talk about this in a more private location. That way we're not interrupted." Ruby narrowed her eyes as she spoke softly, gesturing for Lila to walk first. A scowl replaced the girl's fake smile and she walked forward. The young Culpa looked back and saw Adrien stare at her in worry, standing next to Chloe and Marinette, who wore the same expressions.

Make amends, Adrien. I'll be back in one piece. She stared at them for a bit more, offering a small smile before walking off with Lila.

They entered a quiet room, Ruby fumbling with her phone before putting in her front pocket, just as Lila turned around. "I don't know what kind if game you're playing, but let me make this clear, Adrien is mine. And I'll ruin you just like I did to that baker girl." Lila sneered, her glare practically murderous. But Ruby wasn't effected.

In fact, Ruby smirked, walking forward confidently to the girl and watching as she lost her edge began stepping back. Her back hit the wall and she started to panic as Ruby placed a hand on the wall next to her head. "Oh sweetheart, I'm not playing any games. I said it before when I said Adrien is like a brother to me. If only you stopped your lies, maybe you would have a chance. And if you played for the other team." Ruby said cheekily, leaning forward. She watched as Lila pale before blushing madly, pushing Ruby off of her.

Ruby just composes herself, her eyes turning cold as she stared at Lila. "You had you're chance to apologize. Keep the sheep for all I care. Before I leave, I'll make sure Marinette gets the attention she deserves. She's not someone you can manipulate to suicide, unlike those in your last school." She paused, seeing the color drain from Lila soon hearing that.

"And Adrien is not a prize for you to win. You claim to have all these connections to famous people. But none of them check out. Especially since you claim to be friends with those who were dead long before you were born."

"So what if I lied?! They'll believe anything I say! Its not my fault that girl killed herself for having other bully her! They just wanted to hear interesting tales--"

"And yet, it was you who whispered the lies in their ears. Just like you're doing now. With connections such as yours, you would be smart to think about what you say. Before this, I was told that Marinette was almost gone and that you've caused at least 4 akumas to go after her. Not to mention that you willingly have been Akumatized."

"How do you know all this?!" Lila shrieked, her face red and she balled her hands into fists. Ruby gave an unimpressed stare, crossing her arms.

"A real reporter checks the facts. There were cameras around Paris, and unlike the ladyblog, my blog is backed up by a big company. Alya is lucky I'm not blacklisting her blog for false information. Not yet anyways." She turned, ready to walk out, when she stopped, glancing back at the fuming girl.

"And claiming to be friends with Ladybug of all people, when you knowingly want her dead, is putting a big target on your head. Plan all you want to call me out, I'll be waiting for the extremes you to achieve that." With that, she left the room. Lila fummed on the spot, wondering how a brat like Ruby knew so much.

I'll make sure everything you say is a lie, Ruby.

Ruby took out her phone from her pocket, smiling at the recording before saving it and making a copy of it. She walked back to her spot, hearing pairs of steps walking towards her. Looking up, she saw Alya with some of the girls around her, as well as Marinette walk towards her.

They stopped and stared at each other upon reaching Ruby. Both looked uncertain, Alya more hateful than Marinette's. Ruby, getting agitated, stands up stepping between the two before words can be said.

"Look I don't know what kind of drama you both have, but its petty. Whatever Lila has told you about Marinette can't possibly be true, but would you know, Alya? Seeing as you never asked Marinette." She stood in front of Marinette propectively, staring down at Alya.

"The rivalry between me and Lila over a boy is ridiculous and I would never stoop thst low just to keep someone I know away from soemone else. Now if you'll excuse me, I have something to write." Alya and the girls stared in shock as Ruby walked away, Marinette scurring after her.

"What-- forget it. Let's find Lila." Alya said after recovering, the others nodded and following the checkered shirt girl.

°·°·°·°·°·°·°

During lunch, Ruby went to find Marinette, when she saw she was with two boys. One with black hair and a red jacket while the other had red tomato hair and a dark grey cardigan. They were talking, Ruby couldn't hear however due to being far, but found out Marinette was crying. The girl was about to go iver there, when Marinette lunged herself at the two boys, hugging him tightly.

She smiled at the scene and turned away, knowing she can find Marinette later. Instead, she walked out to the courtyard, when a scream echoed out. Ruby ran and saw the Alya and others run away, as an akuma jumped down from a ledge, looking around.

"Lila it's okay!!" Alya yelled, dodging a projectile that was aimed for her. The reporter managed to active the akuma alert, causing everyone in the school and in the area to be alert of what was happening.

"You!" Ruby turned and saw Lila stare at her menacingly.

"Oh my, this proves my words even more. You're after me right? Let's see if you can catch me Rossi." Ruby smirked, dashing out to the front doors, an enraged Lila behind her.

"Lila no! Whatever Ruby said wasn't true!" Alya had yelled trying to follow. But something began to block the front doors. "Lila!"

The girl looked like a spider, her skin deathly pale, eyes red and enraged staring as Ruby ran. Surprisingly, she was fast, but since Lila was an akuma she could catch up. People had already left the scene when the alert sounded, everyone in the streets going to designated shelters until the akuma was dealt with.

Ruby didn't know how long she had been running, but when she reached the Louvre and saw no one, she relaxed. The air drastically changed and she turned, watching as Lila stalked over to her.

"Just because you know about my lies, doesn't mean anything. I can ruin you like that girl and make you look like a fool! But Hawkmoth wants to know if you actually know who he is." Lila smirked, shooting out a thread from her hair and throwing at Ruby. The girl dogded at the last second, though she knew that she can't dodge forever.

"So you're a truth seeker? Or stealer to make them you're own?" Ruby remarks, dodging multiple threads.

"Shut up!!" Lila screeched, throwing double the threads than before. Ruby's wyes widen, knowing she can't dodge that many, when a figure jumps in front and blocks all of the threads. Ruby hears Lila snarl lowly as she stared at Chat Noir.

"Looks like the cat has come to play."

Chat Noir doesn't reply, only giving a deadly glare to Lila as he stood protectively in front of Ruby. The sound of a yo-yo echoed and Lila was wrapped from the waist up and yanked back to the wall, crumbling on top of her. Ladybug lands next to Chat Noir, both of them watching as Lila picks herself up from the rubble.

"You okay, Ruby?"

"I'm fine, Ladybug." Ruby panted, stepping back as Lila let out a scream.

"Ladybug. Why don't you come here for a bit. So I can get a good look at your earrings." Lila growled, before lunging at the three. Chat Noir quickly grabs Ruby and they all dodge out of the way.

They land on a roof that was fair distance away from Lila, Chat Noir setting down Ruby gently. Ladybug noted that her partner was quiet, which was unusual for someone like him.

"Theres a chance the akuma could be in her earring, hair tie, or bracelet. She wasn't carrying any purse when I talked to her." Ruby states, looking at Lila with a calculating look. "She's after me. I can be a distraction while you guys--"

"What? No!" "Out of the question." Both heroes reply at once, startling the young culpa.

"We have-- duck." Ruby suddenly said, pushing both heroes quickly as a thread shot towards them. The thread hit her and felt heat in her throat and felt her body being pulled. Vaguely she heard the heroes scream her and suddenly she felt herself being held tight.

She heard Lila laugh and move away from the heroes. "Now, lets find out what your hiding, shall we?"

General tags: @kristycocopop

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@reallyobscurememe

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Regular tags: @natu123 @imagine-lcorp @the-wlw-cafe @mcgrathandwives @gale-of-the-nomads @nobodyfamousposts @miraculous-of-salt

[rainboq]

#22 This isn’t goodbye. AmberPrice Make it as fluffy as you like, just so long as you make it hurt.

Night Shift

It’s the dead of the night when Chloe first comes to visit her grave. She’s not surprised, Chloe was never the type to make her mourning a public affair, she always bottled it up.

Being a ghost is strange, but she can roam the graveyard freely so that’s at least something.

She follows Chloe at a discrete distance, old habits die hard, even from beyond the grave. Getting close to Chloe when she was consumed with grief was always a good way to start a fight.

When Chloe finds her marker under the lambent glow of the little lamps that dot the cemetery, she freezes. Rachel’s incorporeal form leans against a tall headstone. She has no need to of course, but again, old habits.

“Uh… hey Rach.”

She smirks. Very Chloe.

“Sorry I’ve been so shitty about not visiting, but, well. You know me. You had to practically drag me to go see dad.”

I wonder if William is like me? Shame he’s buried on the other side of town.

“Fuck, I was never good at this. So, fuck it.”

Chloe takes a bottle out from the inside of her coat. At first Rachel thinks she’s going to drink it herself, but then Chloe unscrews the cap and starts pouring it over her grave. She squints a bit before realizing it’s a bottle of the shitty whiskey they used to drink together. She always was more sentimental than she let on.

“There, a peace offering I guess so you don’t get pissed at me for moving on from the afterlife or whatever. Yeah, yeah, I know, Chloe fucking Price, moving on. Stop the motherfucking presses.”

She giggles quietly to herself. She has no idea how long it’s actually been, but clearly Chloe has been doing some self reflection.

“And you’ll never fucking guess who I’m with now. Or maybe you already know, I have no fucking idea how this shit works. But yeah, Max showed the fuck back up and she’s hella gay for me and just… fuck. So much shit went down when we were trying to find you. Or do you already know that? Shit. Sorry about disturbing your eternal fucking rest or whatever.”

“It’s fine.”

Chloe practically jumps and spins around, shouting into the night. “Who the fuck said that? Better not be some fucking asshole!”

“Wait, you can hear me?!”

Chloe wheels again and stares at her, her mouth hanging open.

It takes a moment to process that Chloe is actually staring at her.

Right.

At.

Her.

“R-Rachel?” Chloe’s voice is tiny and broken.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

Chloe recoils, the bottle falling from her hands. “Shit! Shit shit shit! Did I take my fucking meds? Fuck, think Price, think!”

Rachel watches and Chloe smacks herself upside the head a few times, an old ache in her chest from the bygone days where she used to watch Chloe struggle with depression on a daily basis.

“Max made you take them this morning, but that means…”

“I’m a ghost, crazy, I know.”

Chloe looks at her again, her eyes so full of pain as she shakily approaches. “Rach, I…”

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m the one who fucked up. I’ve… had a lot of time to think about my fuckups if you can’t tell.”

“I should have been there for you, I should have…”

“Oh Chlo, we had a fight that night, remember? We were pissed I was hanging out so much with Frank.”

Chloe goes silent for a few moments, her hands balling up into fists. “You were fucking him.”

“… Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Because it was cheap drugs for us and he had money we could use.”

“And Jeffershit?”

“Same thing, he could get my name in places for when we left. I never meant to hurt you or anything, but I fucked that up too. I wish I could take it all back but, well.”

Chloe’s hand passes through her before jumping back with a shiver. Rachel supresses a giggle. “I feel like I should be fucking mad at you but… I just want to hug you.”

“I wish I could hug you too. Do you remember what I said that night?”

Chloe nods. “Yeah, ‘this isn’t goodbye.’”

“I meant it. It’s great to see you again, but you should go sleep, Max is probably worried about you.”

“You aren’t mad about that?”

“Girl, I’m not even slightly surprised. Bring her around next time so I can finally put name to face, who knows, maybe she can see me too.”

[hunterxassasin]

Just a little something for my buddy @caitlinsnow-yayyy!! Definitely not a new au. . .totally not. . .haha. .

Also a slightly aged up au because I said so. This is set a few years after the show occurs, chsracters are 18 - 19 because i want them to be

---

Alya let out a long breath of air as she out her camera down. Adrien's photoshoot was taking a break and she was finally done filming it for the most part.

As far as his father was aware, she was there as a journalist, nothing more than a pawn in his game, which was the only reason she was allowed to attend. However, she had another reason for being there, and that reason was clear to everyone in the park as Adrien came up and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.

Alya chuckled and playfully shoved him. "Alright pretty boy, enough of that." She teased, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. A smirk formed on her face as Adrien faked a frown.

"Why can't I kiss my girlfriend? It's not like it's against the law." The blond said dramatically, doing his best puppy dog face, however it didn't faze Alya in the slightest, in fact she seemed to stand her ground even harder.

The red head opened her mouth to respond when she heard a very familar Italian accent. "Well, I believe the rest of our crew is here. If you'll excuse me, darling," she booped his nose with a chuckle. "I'll go see what they're up to." Shs turned away as Adrien let out a huff.

Marinette and Lila were approaching, Nino a keeping a few paces back from the couple. The aspiring DJ was the only one not to have a significant other, no matter how hard Lila and Laya schemed to set him up with Chloe. "Hey girl, didn't think you'd be here this early."

Marinette gave a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of her neck. "Well, if it weren't for Nino calling at least 6 times we wouldn't have gotten here at all. . ." Alya raised an eyebrow, eyeing both the girls but said nothing more.

"We were in the middle of a baking lesson, it wasn't going too well." Lila explained, glancing behind Alya at Adrien who was slowly getting back into his photoshoot. "Looks like our plans will have to wait for a while. In the meantime. . ." She glanced at Marinette, who gave her a soft, loving smile and a nod. The two girls headed for a patch of concrete and Lila slipped the bag she was carrying off her slender shoulders.

She and Marinette pulled two pair of shiny, black tap shoes out of the bag and put them on. Alya and Nino settled down in front of them, excitement in their eyes. It wasn't too often they got to see the two of them preform, let alone preform together. Marinette tapped her foot in a simple rhythm, speeding it up as she and Lila began to tap. Eventually a small audience had gathered, and even Adrien's photographers had stopped to watch.

Their show ended with Lila dipping Marinette and planting a sweet kiss on her lips. Alya whooped and hollored for them, the rest of the crowd, mostly people the two girls knew, gave a soft chuckle.

Adrien settled down by Alya as Marinette and Lila came over. "They cut the session short today because of you're little preformance, so we have time to go ahead with our plans." Alya perked up a bit more and pulled her boyfriend into a tight hug, sprinkling kisses on his cheeks.

Lila glanced over at Nino, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure you don't want to invite Chloe? She does have a miraculous you know, ever since we retrieved the peacock and let her use it she's been dying to get out more."

Nino bkushed fervently, shaking his head. "Its fine, besides then Marinette would have to fetch the miraculous and there's no akuma so Master Fu would be suspicious." He muttered, standing up. "Let's just get going." He huffed, putting his headphones iver his ears and ducking into the nearest alley way, followed by Adrien. The faint green and black lights could be seen for a just a second before Carapace and Chat Noir were bounding the rooftops.

Alya blushed heavily, biting her lip. "I wish he could be like this all the time." She muttered, getting an odd look from Marinette and a cheeky one from Lila.

"You mean in a leather catsuit all the time?" Lila snickered, receiving a punch in the shoulder.

"You know exactly what I mean." Alya stood up and sauntered away, ducking behind a building. In a soft flash of yellow light the bee heroine, Abeille was bounding across the rooftops after the two heros.

Lila and Marinette followed, Ladybug and Volpina could be seen running across the rooftops together as the caught up with their companions.

---

Alya sighed as she settled down in her bed. It had been a long night, after they had all set out an akuma had showed up, which required Chloe's help despite Nino's protests. She was battered and bruised, but the job was well done. Paris was safe, and that's all that mattered.

Scrolling through her phone, Alya pulled up her texts with Adrien, smiling gently at them. Most of them were him just saying how much he missed her and what not, but none the less it made her smile. She sent him a quick good night text before throwing her phone onto her nightstand and letting herself drift off to sleep.

---

Adrien could not get comfortable. Anyway he tried to sleep it just wouldn't come. Eventually he got up and wandered down the lavish stairs in his home, heading towards his father's office.

A faint glow flickered under the door, as Adrien approached. A candle, he guessed, must be the source of the light. He gently knocked, receiving a grunt that sounded similar to come in.

The model entered, standing firm in front of the stained oak desk. Gabriel looked up at his son from behind his glasses, narrowing his eyes at him. "What brings you down here this late at night, Adrien? Just because you're 18 doesn't mean you can disregard the schedule I have you on." His father spoke in a rough manner, his voice cracking slightly, as if something was bothering him.

Adrien brushed it off, forcing himself to not give in to his softer, more people pleasing side. "Father, there's something I need to tell you." He stated firmly, hands balling into fists at his sides.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow but said nothing more, which Adrien took as an invitation to continue. "I have a girlfriend. And I've been seeing her since we were 13." Gabriel blinked, forcing himself not to smirk. He hadn't know of Adrien's little girlfriend, but it could be of use to him. . .if only he could get them to breakup then he could have a very powerful akuma on his hands. The man began to plot, watching as his son spoke once more.

"A-and" Adrien's voice faltered, but he continued. "I want to propose to her. As soon as possible." He watched his fathers facial expressions, trying to get a read on him, to see what he was thinking, to know what souod come next, but it was in vain. The words that came out of his father's mouth were not what he expected.

"Fine then, bring her to meet me tomorrow, and then we will get you a ring."

[miracul0us-multishipper]

Felix Idea

Continuation of this

“-and anyway, I told Marinette pink is just her color, but I’m sure you would have swooned if you’d seen her in that blue dress she made. Like, not even you, Sunshine would have been able to get out a word in the presence of that angel! A revelation in pastel hues, lemme tell you!”

“Alya,” Felix managed to interrupt her when she had to take a breath. Finding the Ladyblogger had been easy, but getting her to shut up for long enough to speak? Not so much. “Marinette” - or Marian, or whatever her name had been - “looks great! I believed you the first fifteen minutes you told me about it, and I still do now.”

“Oh, but you can’t believe it until you have seen her!”, Alyas blonde friend - Rose? - emphasized as her goth girlfriend nodded along. “We should go visit her right away or you’ll miss the opportunity to witness true lov- beauty!”

God, how did his cousin survive these girls. Felix had only been in their presence for minutes and he already felt the urge to stick his head in the Seine, just to drown out their voices in his ringing ears!

“Later.” he promised, “But I came here to ask you something, and it’s really important.”

Alya had the self control to keep her mouth shut and nod. Finally.

“A few months ago, you posted that interview with Ladybug on your blog, remember?”

Alya nodded again, enthusiasm sparking in her eyes. Before Felix could stop her, she was talking again.

“Pff, if I remember? Boy, that was like, the kickstart of my journalistic career! If our little networking Queen hadn’t managed to convince LB-“

“Alya!”, he interrupted again, his mind racing to keep up with her. Networking Queen? “I need you to listen. You’re my friend, right? Friends listen.”

Immediately, she let herself fall back next to him.

“Right! Sorry! Gettin’ a little carried away here.”

“No problem!”, Felix pressed out with the friendliest, most Adrien-like smile he could muster up. Even if he was at the brink of loosing his mind.

“Anyway. Our ‘Networking Queen’... I need you to get me a meeting with her. Today.”

Alyas eyes began to sparkle in a way that made Felix wonder of this had been a mistake.

“Oooooh, I get it.”, she all but cooed. “You want some alone time with your ‘just a friend’?”

“A date between model and fashionista?”, Rose chirped up, that same expression in her eyes.

“Chat Noir’s voice talking to our Everyday Ladybug?”, Juleka followed suit, red eyes eerily unblinking.

They could’ve texted him in ancient hieroglyphs and he would’ve understood more than the nonsense that had just left their mouths.

He was about to give up - fuck it, he’d just create an Akuma and wait for Ladybug to show up - when a shrill voice caught his attention.

“Did I just hear ‘Ladybug’?”, snickered a blonde girl walking out of a nearby boutique. “Because if you want to talk heroes, Adrie-chérie, you’ll want to talk to me!”

“Chloé”, Alya growled, but Felix wasn’t listening anymore.

Everything clicked into place.

Networking Queen? Chloé knew lots of famous people by living in an exclusive hotel.

Adrien’s ‘just a friend’? Who else could it be than his oldest companion, who was also too much of a headache to ever be considered more than a friend?

Fashionista? Well... personally, Felix would have preferred to go blind this very instant before having to look at that garish yellow jacket again, but Chloé’s mother still was the Style Queen.

And an Everyday Ladybug? He might not know how, but Chloé did have a miraculous at some point, making her a lower-tier, more ordinary hero. An everyday Ladybug, if you wanted to flatter her and insult the goddess that was Ladybug.

In other words: The contact that would get him Ladybugs attention? It was Chloé Bourgeois! Everything made sense now.

“Well, that’s my cue.”, Felix told the three furies next to him and got up. Chloé looked surprised when he actually walked over to her, but the girls? They looked flabbergasted.

“W-Wait a sec! Didn’t you want to go to Marinette’s with us?”, Rose pouted, tears forming in her ridiculously oversized eyes.

“Yeah!”, Alya complained. “Since when would you rather hang out with Chloé than grab some pastries and compliment Mari?!”

That’s it. Felix had had it with their pushy, unhelpful and downright obsessive interest in his view on some amateur-designers dress of the day! Jesus Christ, did Paris do this to people or were they just born with an endless reservoir of mindless chatter?!

“For the record,” Felix’ friendly facade began to crack as his smile turned malicious, “I do not want to visit Marinette. In fact, I do not care about this Marinette at all! And I don’t care about you, your infuriating riddles and your absolute gibberish either!”

Chloe next to him spit out the smoothie she’d been slurping and stared at him in disbelief, but he wasn’t done yet. Now that their faces varied from shock to anger to hurt, he had an idea for a back-up plan. Prime Akuma-material was prime Meeting-Ladybug material, after all.

“It has been almost half an hour until something even vaguely useful left your mouth!”, Felix happily continued his rant. “Up to then, the only thing you did was bore me to death with your tabloid of a blog, some band I now wish I’d never heard of, and the oh-so glorious color choice of a dress that isn’t even finished yet! I mean, I don’t know about you, but I have a very important and busy life! So, if you’ll excuse me?”

He straightened his jacket and turned towards Chloé’s limousine.

“I have interesting people to spend my day with.”

All four watched him get into the car, mouths agape, before a sharp “Chloé!” Let the blonde remember she was supposed to follow him.

“Uh, Yeah!”, she stammered towards the other three. “So long, you... uh... uninteresting people!”

-

“Are you alright?”, Chloé asked him for the third time since they had arrived at her room. “I mean, not to say I don’t approve of you realizing how stupid they are, but that was kind of... sudden.”

“I told you, Chloé.”, he faked patience. “I just want to spend some time with you! My best and oldest friend!”

“Oh”, she perked up. “Well, then! We didn’t hang out in ages, Adrikins!”

She threw herself into a red-cushioned armchair, sighing.

“It’s been so long, I don’t even remember what we used to do all the time.”

A shrill, uncomfortable laugh escaped her, slowly dying down when she realized he wasn’t laughing along.

“So... uh, what do you want to do? We could play Ladybug and Chat Noir! I have these wicked expensive cosplays in my closet you have to see, maybe I’ll let you borrow the Chat Noir one! Sabrina usually plays him, but she’s got a cold and I definitely won’t let her contaminate it with some sort of poor people disease! So-“

“Why don’t we talk a little, for now?”, he cut her off, inspecting the numerous wardrobes in the room. Any sign that Ladybug frequented this place would be enough to raise his mood.

“About you being Queen Bee, for example! You and Ladybug must be... close.”

He turned around to her and she laughed.

“Close? We are BFFs! I mean, sure, she hasn’t given me a Miraculous in a while, but she still adores me. Everybody does, right?”

She laughed again.

“Right?”

Not bothering to answer, he rolled his eyes.

“Surely you must have a way to contact her.”, he hinted at his end goal of this conversation. “As close as you are, you must be talking all the time.”

“W-well...”, Chloé started, something unreadable in her expression, before she shook her head. “Of course! The bee signal, it’s on my balcony.”

She led him outside, proudly turning on what looked like a giant spotlight with bee motive.

“Cool, huh?”

Felix’ carefully cheerful face crumbled. This... was it? His chance at meeting Ladybug was nothing more than a glorified pocket torch on some rich girls‘ roof?!

“Cool?”, he laughed in disbelief. “Tell me, Chloé... has she ever actually answered your signal?”

The girl faltered.

“What?”

“Did Ladybug”, he hissed, anger pooling in his chest, “ever react to this thing?”

“I mean...”, she shrugged, “One or two times, I guess? But you can’t measure our friendship in how often she visited me, right? I mean, you didn’t visit a lot either!”

She laughed, but it sounded insecure now.

“Wow, that came of accusing! You know I adore you though, right, Adrikins?”

Sighing she leaned on the balcony railing.

“I bet you missed hanging out with me! It’s just that so much is changing for you right now, adjusting to school life and all, and you’re so crowded by these losers all the time. Sometimes I think you forget that we’re friends entirely, ha ha! That is, until I... until people are upset with me for some stupid reason.”

She talked on and on and on. Why was everybody talking so much today? Why did no one see how important this day was? How long he had pined for this moment to arrive, only to have it kept just out of reach.

“Hey, do you think you have time on Friday?”, Chloé finally ended her monologue. “Daddy is officially opening up our new spa area, and we’ve deserved a little break! Being popular is so exhausting.”

Felix let out a dry, bitter laugh and finally turned to his cousin’s childhood friend.

“Popular?”, he wanted to snarl, but it came out tired. “You’re not popular, Chloé. Get real.”

“Um, excuse-“

“No. I have had a thoroughly disappointing day, and I can’t stand to see more uselessness today.”

He sighed, ignoring how Chloé was backing away from him.

“Nobody likes you.”, he said matter-of-fact. “Who are you kidding? Ladybug won’t show up, and neither will anyone else. Any day. And I guess you should come to accept that, because the longer you entertain yourself with your little illusion, the more it will hurt when you realize you are hopeless.”

“Adrien, what’s gotten into you?”, she shook her head, trembling hands balled to fists. “You can’t speak to me like that!”

“Yeah?”, he mocked her, desperate to let off some steam. “Why not? Is your Daddy going to throw money at me? Is your Mommy going to call me by the wrong name and pretend to fire me? Or is it just you she does that with?”

Now she actually flinched, eyes as wide as dinner plates. He can only muster up a halfhearted chuckle.

“Do me a favor, Chloé, now that you couldn’t even get Ladybug here. Go away. You bore me so, so much.”

He expected a fight - hoped for one, actually. So when she retreated, carefully, before turning and running away, he was almost disappointed. Because now he was alone on the roof, with no Akuma in sight, and the glorious Ladybug spending her day somewhere else entirely. Or maybe she was with Adrien. Maybe she had arrived the minute he had left, because that was just how lucky he was.

He sank to his knees, exhaustion pulling him down.

It had always been like this. Adrien was the lucky one, and he was just his little cousin.

Adrien, the prodigy son. The heir to a fashion empire, with parents who actually cared about where he was. The junior fencing champion, and multilingual genius, and the flawless face that was plastered all over Paris. Everybody loved Adrien, that was just how it was.

Even... Even Ladybug. For some reason his birdbrained, pampered cousin had the attention of the one person Felix wanted for himself.

No matter how unlikely, or unlogical, or unfair it was: Adrien always won, without even trying.

Meanwhile Felix schemed and planned and worked, but it never amounted to anything. Even though he was so much smarter. Even though he looked almost the same as his cousin. Even though he deserved it! God, with his luck, Adrien probably had a Miraculous too and spend all his freetime wooing Ladybug!

While he was stuck here, with children unworthy of his time, wasting his precious day in Paris.

He should have just-

“Chloé?”, a voice interrupted his laments. He looked up. That voice...

“Chloé!”, she repeated, landing skillfully next to the pool. “Are you alright? You turned on the signal, is there an Ak... A-Adrien?!”

Felix rose to his feet, staring at the apparition before him with awe. Black hair, tied into playful pigtails on the back, framed a face that “beautiful” didn’t even begin to describe. Clear blue eyes looked at him from underneath her red mask, the look in them so open and happy he felt his heart swell.

“Ladybug”, he whispered.

For once in his life, he was lucky.

- - -

Our spoiled brat is throwing a pity party, but now we‘re getting to the fun part!

[anjuschiffer]

Amira Wayne - Chapter 7

:3c

I exchanged @biodad-bruce-month‘s Day 7: Fashion Show with Fight!

Chapter 7: Fight

-

P.Tag: @theatreandcomicfreak @damianette-is-life @toodaloo-kangaroo @elijahcrevan

Tag: @vixen-uchiha @we-want-mini-mini @ramos123 @bluesimani @redscarlet95 @greatcatblaze @promiswords

-

MASTERLIST | FIRST | PREV | AO3

Amira looked at the white board inside her walk-in closet, reviewing the new information she got last night. During last night’s patrol, Amira took a break halfway through, using the time to ask Tikki more questions regarding the miraculous. 

They were earrings, which thankfully, can shift in design but can’t change its original form: earrings. 

So here was Amira, sporting all black studs. Simple and hidden in plain sight. Amira also found out that the appearance of the earrings can always be changed as Tikki doesn’t have to use too much energy to do so. Therefore, Amira has been planning on changing its appearance after every akuma attack, an easy tactic to see exactly how much Hawkmoth himself knows about the Ladybug miraculous.

Next up, her yo-yo. Turns out that it’s more than just that. While it works as a tracker and phone, it only works when Amira is transformed. No yo-yo, no way to communicate with Chat. Because of this, Amira decided to get him a burner phone to make sure the two can communicate outside the suit. Will also help in case they have to communicate during an energy break while there is an akuma. 

Her costume. Thankfully, Tikki had told her that it morphs into whichever design the holder has in their head. With more concentration on the design, the more the costume will have what the holder would want. After patrol, Amira made it her mission to get the utility belt in her design and after plenty of trial and errors, Amira got it. 

Now she had smoke pellets, a taser, a small utility knife and a first aid kit at her disposal. Of course, the belt came with a price - her dagger.

Brushing out her hair, Amira looked at her reflection. She always hated having long hair. While Dick always told her that he liked her hair when it was long (because he liked braiding it for her), Amira never took a shine to having long hair. 

It was a hassle to brush out, to clean. During track (even though she was only on the team for two years), Amira hated seeing other girls have their lucky amulets in their hair. A special pin or hair tie from their fathers and sometimes from their-

“-to Marinette!” Tikki yelled, snapping Amira from her trip down memory hell.

“Tikki, I live across the school. I won’t be late.” Marinette stated, continuing to stare at her reflection.

“I know that, but your phone has been buzzing nonstop!” Tikki said, showing her the multiple texts she was receiving.

Marinette took it, smiling when she saw they were from Wally and Dick, telling her to have a better day at school than yesterday’s disaster. “Are they from your friends?”

“You can say that.” Marinette said, tucking her phone into her pocket, looking at her reflection once again. “Tikki. Can you grab my fabric scissors on the table near my monitors?”

-

“It suits you.” Alya randomly told Marinette after the end of their first class. “Your hair, I mean. Don’t think I didn’t notice it.” Marinette simply blinked, wondering why people always said a compliment before bringing up their actual motives. “Name’s Alya-”

“-Cesaire. I know. Now if you excuse me, I have a class to get to.” Marinette filled in, getting up to leave, only for Alya to grab her wrist. “Let go.”

“Sorry!” Alya apologized, letting go of Marinette. “I just...I just wanted to tell you that you were a bit too harsh on Mlle Bustier yesterday. You should apologize.” Alya didn’t expect a scoff from Marinette.

“I’m not going to apologize for standing up for what I know is right.”

“Mlle Bustier-”

“-should’ve done her job correctly instead of enabling, especially now that Hawkmoth is a threat. But even with Hawkmoth out of the picture, Ms.Bustier shouldn’t have just assumed it was Ivan who instigated the argument. There’s always two sides of a story and we should always make it our job to figure out who is right. Sometimes, we even figure out why things happened the way they did. Sometimes, we find out we are wrong and when that happens, we have to accept it. If not, how else will we grow?”

With those words, Marinette gave Alya a little bow before going to her next class. Hopefully Marinette can find M. D'Argencourt during her break to try and convince him to let her join the fencing club...again.

 -

“Well, that went easier than I thought.” Marinette told herself, walking down the school steps. M. D'Argencour had happily accepted her into the team, proceeding to tell her the team’s schedule.

While it took a while to hunt the coach down, Marinette was about to find him towards the end of the day.

“Why exactly do you want to know fencing?” Tikki asked her from the pocket inside her sweater.

“I just found it...interesting.” Marinette lied, knowing she couldn’t tell Tikki that her father never let her take up the hobby. While Bruce had allowed Jason to learn how to use a sword, Jason quickly dropped it. Dick was also taught how to use a sword, but he complained how annoying it would be to carry it around, hence the reason why he carries escrima sticks.

While fencing wasn’t the same, fencing will help her gain more skills she can use during her fights. You never know after all.

After greeting Tom and Sabine and squishing Bridgette’s cheeks, Marinette made her way to her room, only to find him in there...again.

“If it’s about the Miraculous, I’m still not giving it to you.” Amira said, throwing her school bag to the floor. She whispered the renouncing spell before reaching into her jewelry box, where countless dupes rested. Oh how she wanted to cackle when she saw her father look at her with wide eyes. 

“Amira, hand them over.” Bruce ordered, stretching out his hand in hopes of Amira doing the correct thing.

“Why won’t you trust me?” Amira gritted, balling her fists. “Why don’t you trust me to do the right thing?”

“I do trust you.” Bruce said, taking a step forward. “That’s why I expect you-”

“I can’t just hand earrings over! The people need me! They need Ladybird to-”

“You don’t need to be running around Paris playing hero, Amira. Let Diana-”

“Must I remind you that I was given the earrings? It’s me who they want! Me! And no! I’m not playing hero! Hell, I’m not even a hero! I’m a vigilante! I’m doing what’s right by being Ladybird, by protecting the people the only way I can.” Amira reasoned, looking at her father. “And trust? Doesn’t that go both ways?” Amira set out a sigh she didn’t know she was holding in. “After all, when were you going to tell me about Batgirl? About...the new Robin?”

How Amira wanted to scream when Bruce remained silent. 

“How did you find out?” Amira scoffed.

“Find out? The whole internet was talking about it! My class was talking about just earlier today!”

It happened during break. Just as Marinette was leaving the class, she bumped into the second surprise of the day in the form of teen model Adrien Agreste. 

Adrien apologized for the accident when Chloe pulled him into the class and began to ‘teach’ him what it meant to be part of a school. The only reason Marinette even remained in class at that point was because she heard Adrien talk about this being his first time in a school...meaning that up until now, he had been homeschooled all his life.

Kinda how like she was up until she was around seven to eight years old. But to be homeschooled until 13? How lonely he must have been. Especially when she heard he was the only child at home.

You’re really ungrateful.

Marinette stiffened, feeling her heart pick up in pace upon remembering Jason’s words. She already knew that...she knew, but was it wrong of her to want something else? To want to have something different than what she currently had?

As Marinette was fighting off the beginnings of a breakdown, Alya’s sudden burst almost triggered it.

“Since when did Robin come back to Gotham?!” Alya yelled, rising from her seat. 

Marinette didn’t need to hear any more, running out of the classroom and locking herself into one of the girl’s bathroom stalls. While she hated having breakdowns, Amira was glad to have had one, as it helped her gained more insight on how Hawkmoth’s powers worked.

He can’t control you if you’re in the middle of an emotional breakdown and can’t register his words. In other words, he can’t control you if you’re already out of control. 

Guess it’s good to know that if Joker were to ever come to Paris, Hawkmoth wouldn’t be able to take over him. 

Amira looked at her father, awaiting for his response. “Under different circumstances, I would have forgiven you for replacing Jason with another guy. But it hasn’t been a year since he died and you’ve already replaced him. 

You know how Jason felt, you know he lived with the fear of doing a single thing that would give you a reason to kick him out of the manor. And while you always assured him you would never do that, here you are, doing just that.” Amira watched as her vision went blurry, wiping them away as she collected herself again. 

“I wasn’t replacing-“

“You were. You are. And not only have you replaced Jason, but it seems you’ve also replaced me.” Amira looked at herself. “Batgirl? Really? You know that was the name I wanted to use if you ever let me fight crime alongside you. Of course, that never happened.”

“Amira.”

“At this point, I don’t care what you do.” Amira gripped all the turmoil inside her. “Right now. I just want you to leave.”

“Amira.”

“Leave! I don’t want to see your face Bruce!” Amira yelled, shocking herself at her outburst. 

Bruce? Why did it feel so wrong, yet so right? She tried it again. “I don’t want you anywhere near me Bruce, so leave! Just leave!”

And he did.

As she watched Bruce leave her room with a heavy heart, she slumped to the floor, standing back up when she felt something approach her. “Tikki!” Tikki appeared before her. “Spots on!” A second later, an akuma appeared before her, Amira quickly capturing it. Before letting it go, Amira quickly searched for a glass jar and a box in her desk.

She let the now purified butterfly go into the jar, surprised to see that it didn’t phase through the jar. So it was just a normal butterfly after all. When coated in magic, the magic allowed it to phase through whatever it wanted to to ensure that it made it to its target.

Calling off her transformation, Amira quickly got to work, carefully placing a tracker on the butterfly’s wing. 

“Are you alright, Marinette?” Tikki asked, looking at her holder with worried eyes.

“I’m alright Tikki. I’m alright.”

-

No, she wasn’t alright.

The next day at school, Chloe tried to stick gum in her seat as a revenge plan for once again chewing out Mlle Bustier for allowing Chloe to interrupt the classroom with another one of her stupid excuses. Not to mention Chloe using her father’s position to get away with said excuse.

It didn’t help when Marinette was stuck with Alya trying to ask her about her past in Gotham and Alya claiming to be her friend.

They barely knew each other and this girl was already clinging to her like a newborn chick. 

While Marinette tried to avoid her at all costs, Alya always found her, Marinette hating it. Didn’t she know about personal space?

Her week got worse when Chat accepted the burner phone but refused to be trained by her. Something about him not needing it.

Thankfully, she was able to vent to Dick and Wally, although more to Wally since Dick was busy with university. 

Days went by and even then, Amira knew she was never going to adjust to life in Paris.

It’s only been four akumas and this city already thinks they saved the world. 

While technically they saved Paris, Ladybird and Chat have yet to fight off a Victim that can become a potential threat to the world. Bubbler and Mr.Pigeon weren’t exactly the worst to deal with, but they weren’t the easiest to take down either. As for Stormy Weather and Lady Wifi, Ladybird realized that it was Victims like them who posed a threat to France. Victims with intangible powers were a force to be reckoned with after all. 

But just because the duo saved Paris four times, it didn’t mean their work was done. They had yet to find out who Hawkmoth was.

Oh, did she mention the ridiculous statue they made in her and Chat’s honor because of the four Victims they took down so far? Long story short, she didn’t go to the ceremony and Chat must’ve told the artist something stupid because here they were. Fighting a Victim all thanks to Chat and his loud mouth.

“Chat! Stop trying to regain your honor and let me-” Ladybird yelled, only to get pushed back by his bo.

“No! This is my fight!” Chat hissed, attempting to land a hit on his copycat. Copycat grinned as he parried all of Chat’s hits, flinging Chat’s bo to the side when he saw an opening. 

“He’s good.” Chat said, landing next to Ladybug as he retreated. Ladybird scoffed, gaining an arched brow from her partner.

“He’s good? Got some pretty low standards there Chat. Have you ever seen Nightwing in combat? This guy is nothing compared to him.” With that, Ladybird charged into the fight, picking up Chat’s bo and using it against Copycat.

The two fought, Ladybird noticing Copycat starting to hit her with less force, more sloppily. He was starting to become more aggressive, half of his hits missing. 

“Chat! Switch!” Ladybird yelled, knocking Copycat’s staff from his hands and throwing Chat his own back to him.

With Chat distracting Copycat, Ladybird waited for the perfect- there!

Chat had launched Copycat into the air, Ladybird using this to wrap him with her yo-yo and slamming him down. Holding him down, Ladybird turned to Chat.

“Where’s his akuma?”

“Here!” Chat said, taking out a photo from Copycat’s pocket. Ripping it, it released the akuma, Ladybird unwrapping her yo-yo and capturing the akuma. Now purified and having the tracker implanted, Ladybird released the butterfly. 

“Miraculous Ladybug!” Ladybird watched as everything was returned and fixed. Turning to Chat, she glared at him. “I’ll be done here in a few minutes. Meet you at the rendezvous in a few.”

NEXT

[fratboyvivimatthews]

ryder donovan - about last night

-

“no lexi, i said no,” you huffed shutting your locker with an eye roll. “i’m not having a party at my house. not only would my parents kill me, but you know i don’t like parties,” you sighed staring right back at her green eyes. 

her bottom lip jutted out, “please y/n/n? you would have the best party of the year on your hands. the take of the whole school for something other than your four point two gpa. don’t you want to have fun?” you rolled your eyes while leaning up against your locker. “come on, it would be so much fun. everyone would love, not that they don’t already because you’re the y/n l/n, the perfect student, athlete, and everything else - but like come on! please!” 

you looked away from your best friend, attention focused on the people passing through the hallway. “nobody thinks of me like tha-” 

“oh i forgot humble.” 

your eyes snapped back to look at her, who had a small smile creeping up on her face. “lexi stop, don’t get your hopes up. i already said it’s not happening,” you stated walking away from your locker and starting down the hallway to econ. “i don’t do parties.” 

“but you have a pool!” lexi yelled causing everyone in the senior hallway to look at the two of you, and your face to flush red. lexi’s eyes locked with yours before she opened her mouth, and you already knew what she was going to say. “par-” throwing your hand over her mouth you stopped her from talking. 

“will you shut up for five minutes about a party?” you hissed stopping in the middle of the hallway, “i am not having one. that’s final.” 

sighing lexi nodded, “okay fine no party.” you smiled at her, starting to walk to your class. “but can the girls and i at least come to sneak a peek at ryder?” your eyes rolled once more at your friend’s obsession with your next door neighbor. the same one who’s your kind of friend.

“yes, you can come over,” you started, lexi jumping up and punching a fist in the air, “but you guys are not sitting around the pool looking for ryder. you freaked him out last time you guys did that.” her cheeks flushed red, causing a smirk to curl on to your face knowing that ryder wasn’t even home the last time they tried to spy on him. 

“he did not.” 

“yes he did, now i have to go or i’ll be late, but i’ll see you before practice.” and with that you left your best friend standing in the sea of people. 

-

your eyes glanced up from the notes your calc teacher was writing down on the board, until you heard your name. “hey y/n/n,” you knew it was the voice of ricky lyle, one of the hockey players, and a big partier. “phst, y/n come on. i know you can hear me.” 

your eyes rolled as you kept looking forward writing your notes down, and not paying any attention to him. just then there was a ball of crumpled up paper hitting the back of your head. whipping around you turned around to glare at the hockey player. “what ricky?” you huffed trying not to seem annoyed. 

he smiled at you, straightening up as he stared up at you. “so i heard you’re having a party on friday y/n/n,” ricky then whispered causing you to freeze in your seat. 

“w-where did you hear that?” you stuttered out trying to figure out how to make your heart to start beating again. “because i’m not,” you added thinking back to the conversation you had with lexi yesterday. 

“lexi told a couple of the gu-”

“ricky you need to untell them!” you whisper yelled turning around completely in your seat. “i am not having a party!” 

his hands shot up in defense quickly, “okay okay, i’ll tell logan to call off the calvery. you won’t be seeing us at your house on friday.” you smiled, thanking the teenage boy a million times, not wanting random people to show up at your house in two days. “oh, and before i forget y/n, you might want to tell lexi to stop telling people you’re having a party.” 

in an instant your face was red, and you were sure there was steam coming from your ears. “i’m going to kill her,” you muttered while quickly copying down the rest of your notes, ricky’s laughter filling your ears. you turned around and shot him a glare shutting him up right up. “yeah that’s what i thought ricky,” you scoffed while slumping down in your desk. 

“if it makes you feel any better y/n, i don’t think many people were planning on going, they didn’t believe you’d actually throw a party.” 

“thanks ricky, but that doesn’t help the fact lexi’s telling people that i’m having a party,” before you could add on the bell was going off and your were shoving your things in your backpack. “now if you excuse me, i have to go murder somebody.” the boy shot you a thumbs up as you raced out of the classroom and down the hallways to your locker, where you knew she’d be waiting for you. “lexi, i’m going to kill you.” 

right away her face dropped, and the color drained from it completely. “why are you going to kill me y/n?” she asked, voice weavering as she did so. 

“oh i think you know why,” you replied, arms crossing over your chest with a heated glare. when lexi just stared at you, you couldn’t help the scoff that left your lips, “you’re kidding me right?” she shook her head, still not completely understanding why you were so upset. “you told people i’m having a party on friday!” 

her mouth formed and ‘o’ and her shoulders scrunched up right away, trying to defend herself in a way. “okay, i can explain,” she stated raising her hands. “i told people you were having a party. there isn’t much else for me to explain.” 

right away you were shaking your head, hands rubbing your temples out of frustration. “i’m not having a party alexis,” you hissed walking around her to your next class. 

“y/n i’m sorry, please don’t be mad at me. it’s not like i told the whole school,” she called, running to catch up with you. “y/n come on, please.” 

you whipped around, rolling your eyes hard. “yeah, well lex you told the hockey team so that’s basically like telling the whole school. so thank you for that, don’t plan on coming over on friday anymore.” her mouth fell open as she stood there in the middle of the hallway. 

“trouble in paradise?” at the sound of his voice you turned to look up at him, ryder dovovan who just happened to slide up next to you. “this would be what, the first friday since like freshman year that lexi hasn’t been at your house on a friday night.” 

“so that’s what you do on your friday night ryds? stalk me from your bedroom window? that’s cute,” you teased while walking through the door, him quickly following behind you for the one class you shared together. 

he shook his head right away to disagree with you, “course not. i just see her car in your driveway when i pull out of mine, that’s all.” you nodded your head, not believing his story one bit. “but anyways, i heard you’re having a party on friday, and i was like ‘you’re kidding me, not the y/n l/n that i know.’” 

you sighed before sitting on you top of your desk. “i’m not having a party actually,” you started with a tight lipped smile, “lexi was just telling people that because she wants me too. just a couple of the girls are coming over. nothing big, i’m still the y/n l/n that you know and love.” the last sentence dusted ryder’s cheeks red, but you missed it. 

“so that means i can’t come by and have a good time?” he asked with a cheeky smile. 

“nope,” you answered popping the ‘p’ as you did. “you have to spend your friday night alone ryder, or find a different party to go to, because there will not be one at my house.” 

“message received,” he answered slipping into his desk which happened to be right behind yours. “i will not be attending any party at y/n l/n’s house on friday night.” you nodded your head, before turning forward and getting ready for the lesson. “but if you were to throw a party, i know it would be the best, because one, you’re a perfectionist. and two, you have a pool.” it was whispered into your ear by ryder, as he leaned forward so just you could hear what he was saying. 

you were quick to turn around in your seat, seeing as you had time as the teacher took attendance. “what is it with everyone and being obsessed with my pool? it’s really not that great, and you should know ryder. but no, that party would be far from perfect because i don’t know the first thing that happens at a party.”

ryder shrugged his shoulders, leaning back in his chair, a lazy smirk sprawling across his face. “i guess that just means you’d need my help if you were to ever have one.” your eyes rolled at his worlds, allowing him to continue on. “and come on y/n/n we both know that your pool is the shit.” your teacher shot him a look, but it didn’t stop him from talking. “it would be a banger, and i really think you should throw it.” 

“too bad ryds, there will be no parties at the l/n household ever. end of story.” ryder hummed, rolling his eyes as he did not believing a word you were saying. “don’t give me that look ryder, you know it’s the truth.” 

“and i’m sure it is y/n, it’s just, you can’t be so sure,” he answered, “that’s all i’m trying to say.” 

“yeah, i’m sure it is.” 

his mouth opened to speak, but your teacher beat him to it, the class finally starting, and your conversation with ryder to end. it ending the party nonsense. allowing you the chance to actually breath, and not worry about people showing up, knowing that both ricky, lexi, and now ryder were going to make sure nobody showed up. it would just be a chill friday with your friday with your friends, and that was all you needed. 

-

the knock on your front door caused you to jump. pulling your towel around your body tight you walked downstairs from your bathroom to unlock it for lexi, chloe, and katie. “hi guys, you can set the pizza on the island counter. i need to go put clothes on and i’ll be downstairs.” you didn’t bother hearing their answers, just rushing back upstairs to throw on a pair of joggers, sports bra and a baggy sweatshirt. once fully clothed you made your way back downstairs, mouth dropping at the sight. people were now filing into your house, people bringing different alcohols as they did. “alexis!” you screamed standing on your stairs as you watched ricky walk in with logan anderson following close behind him. 

“what?” she yelled back, your eyes finding her in the crowd as she tried to set up the soundsystem. when she looked up at you, she could see the smoke coming from your ears, “oh shit.” 

stomping your way down the stairs you shoved past people to get to the blond who was now frozen in her place. “oh shit is right you bitch!” you huffed, looking around the room not impressed with what was happening around you, and the fact people were still filing in through the door. “i told you no fucking party! so why the fuck are there people walking into my house right now lexi?” you yelled arms crossing over your chest, nobody paying any attention to you but to the alcohol that now filled your kitchen counters. 

her mouth opened to speak, but before she could katie and chloe were standing in front of you both with two extra cups in their hands for the both of you. “you look like you could use a drink y/n/n,” chloe spoke while looking over the cups trying to pick which one you should have. “take this one, it’s vodka with lemonade.” the red cup was shoved into your hand, and you just stared down at it in disgust. 

“i’m not drinking that,” you replied sticking the cup back out for her one of the three to have. “now get all of these fucking people out of my house!” you cried hands flying to your hair, ready to pull it all out. “i cannot have these people here, i am not having a party, and i am sure as hell not cleaning this all u-” 

your protests were cut off by chloe pouring your drink into your mouth with the help of the two blonds. “see all you needed was a drink,” chloe smiled while you tried not to choke on the drink that was burning your throat. “you’ll thank us later,” she said making sure to wrap her arms around you. 

“once we change your outfit you can thank us,” katie added. “because you cannot look like that at the party of the year.” 

“well thanks,” you muttered with a distaste in your mouth. “i happen to like my outfit.” 

lexi shook her head, “yeah well the boys won’t so let’s go get you changed.” before you could protest you were being dragged up to your room by lexi and chloe, katie in charge of the cups, and running back to grab a bottle already knowing you were going to be pissy. 

“i don’t want to do this,” you grumbled as they sat you down on your bed. you watched as the two rushed into your closet, katie sitting down next to you. your e/c eyes glanced down to the large blue bottle in her hands before reaching over for it, her brown eyes widening as you did. “don’t give me that look kates, we both know i’m not getting through this night without drinking. so hand it over.” 

without protest she handed you the bottle watching in awe as you threw the bottle back without even flinching. “so you’re okay with having a party and drinking now?” katie asked looking away from you to see if your friends had clothes, but then back to you. 

“no i’m absolutley fucking pissed katie,” you explained before taking another large drink. “but i can’t do anything about it now, so i’m gonna get fucking wasted.” her mouth dropped open as stared at you with wide eyes. “yeah i know i’m pretty shocked too, but there’s nothing else i can do. plus the vodka tasted good, even if chlo forced it down my throat.” katie cringed at the little forcefulness of your friend but knew there was no other way. 

right as she was about to speak lexi and chloe walked out of your closest, your new outfit in hand. “put these on first,” chloe spoke throwing the lace thong at you. your eyes went wide, and your cheeks heated up. “oh and this to go with it.” a matching bralet was thrown in your direction. 

“i hate you guys,” you huffed, grabbing your bottle as you walked into your closest to change. taking a sip of the clear alcohol you stripped out of your clothes, stumbling as you did feeling a little buzz. you pulled the lace on over your body, then followed by the black jean skirt, one that was made to show off your ass. the final touch was the tight fitted sheer long sleeve shirt you forgot you had from a concert last year. you stared at yourself in the full length mirror and couldn’t believe you were looking back at yourself. 

“are you almost done y/n/n?” lexi asked, allowing you to hear the slur in her voice. “we wanna see!” with that you walked out of your closest, all of them gasping as you did. “holy fuck y/n/n you’re hot!” 

“fucking sexy!” 

“i didn’t know you were hiding a body under those sweatshirts and joggers.” 

your eyes rolled at your friends compliments as you walked over to your shoes, pulling on your all black high top converse. “well thanks guys, means a lot,” you said sarcasm lacing your words. “now i have a party i’m supposed to be hosting.” with that you left the rest of them in your room, finishing up your bottle as you went. as you walked out to the stairs your eyes scanned the living room, which was now full of dancing drunk teenagers. 

your eyes then looked to the door and you saw ryder standing there with a smirk on his stupidly gorgeous face. “i thought you weren’t having a party?” he yelled to you as you slowly walked down the stairs, not trusting your coordination since this was your first time drinking. 

“yeah so did i, but here we are ryds,” you answered with a sassy smile, “can i get you something to drink? because i need another one.” ryder nodded his head, allowing you to lead him through the sea of people into the crowded kitchen. you grabbed his hand as a way of making sure you didn’t lose him in the crowd. “so what do you want?” you then asked leaning up against the island, watching as his eyes looked around the counter. 

“if you weren’t planning on having a party, where’d you get all of this y/n?” ryder asked, shock taking over his tone of voice. you shrugged your shoulders, not really knowing where all of the alcohol came from, but that didn’t stop you from making yourself a new drink. “i take it that lexi didn’t tell people not to come?” 

you nodded before taking a sip of your vodka, knowing you shouldn’t switch from light colored drinks to dark. “no she didn’t ryds, did you?” his eyes looked down to his cup full of captain morgan as he nodded his head. “wait, you actually told people that i wasn’t having a party?” 

“yeah i told people to not come,” he informed with a boyish smile. “but then i got a text from logan that he was on his way to your house, and i looked out my window and cars were just flooding your driveway and the street. so then i decided i would come check it out for myself.” you nodded your head before taking another drink to try and clear some of the awkwardness between the two of you. 

right as ryder was about to speak katie came rushing over to you with a cheeky smile, “y/n you need to come dance! now come on!” with that you were being dragged away from ryder , your drink slashing against the sides of your cup. “i hope you know how to get down y/n/n!” katie yelled over the sound of the music before throwing you into the middle of the makeshift dance floor. 

“oh yeah kates? watch and learn,” you giggled before climbing up on top of your parents coffee table. as soon as beyonce’s voice filled your living room everyone went crazy, yourself included. your hips moved along to the sound of the music, a growing smile on your face. you reached down with your free hand, pulling your girls up with you. in a drunken state it wasn’t long until the four of you were grinding up against each other, laughing as you did. “why haven’t you guys taken me to parties before?” you asked over the sound of the music, taking a drink as you waite for their answer. “this is a fucking blast!” 

the three of them all started laughing, causing you to join in with them. chloe sobered up first, her hand reaching to hold on to your bicep, “y/n/n, we’ve offered. you always say no.” 

“she won’t be saying no anymore, will you?” lexi asked with a smirk of her own. 

“i don’t know it depends,” you answered into your cup so none of them could hear you speak. 

you were about to give them an answer, only someone else beat you to it. “mind if cut in?” of course it was ryder. if you couldn’t tell by his voice, you were able to tell by the looks on your friend’s faces. one by one each of them hopped off the table shooting ryder a smile as they did. 

“she’s all yours dono,” katie slurred while patting his chest. 

“careful, she’ll step on your feet,” chloe added, your eyes rolling as she did. 

“ryder doesn’t need to worry about any of that,” lexi explained with a wicked smirk, if you were sober you would’ve known what that smirk meant, but when you were halfway to wasted you didn’t. “not when she’s going to give him something a lot more exciting.” your eyes locked with her green ones, your eyebrows scrunching up confused with what she was talking about, but when it hit you, you were choking on your drink. 

“lexi!” you hissed reaching down to smack her, only you fell forward allowing ryder the chance to help keep you from falling off the table completely. you met his brown eyes, watching as he smiled with them, but then you realized you were supposed to be hitting one of your best friends so you looked away from the boy in front of you. when you looked up the other three were gone leaving you with ryder once again. 

he cleared his throat, allowing you to smell the alcohol on his breath, “i think i was promised a dance.” you smiled before nodding your head, pulling him step up on to the table. your drink was in your hand still, as you felt ryder’s arms wrap around your waist. his one hand grabbing on to your hip, the other holding on to this cup which was now only half full. 

just as the next song was about to start, it cut out and your eyes looked over to the speakers someone had either brought or found in your house. stand there was lexi, chloe, and katie with smiles. chloe was holding a microphone a smile on her face, “this next song goes out to our girl y/n!” in an instant all eyes were now looking up at you and ryder on the table, all of the girls in the parties mouths dropping. “we love you!” the all said into the microphone. 

get low soon started playing, everyone cheering and grabbing the closest person next to them. turning your head you shot ryder a smirk over your shoulder. “i hope you can keep up ryds,” you teased as you started to move your hips against his. his hand squeezed your hip cause you to squeal which wasn’t the reaction you were expecting.

“don’t worry y/n/n, i can keep up just fine,” he smirked, his hips falling into rhythm with yours. you threw your head back to rest on his shoulder as a large smile took hold of your face, one you didn’t think would ever go away. a grin took hold of your face as an idea came into mind. without another thought you were slowly working your way down his body, his hand trailing up yours as you went down. ryder’s brown eyes followed you down, watching as you squatted down. your smirked up at him as you spun around came back up so you were facing him. 

his mouth was hanging open as you wrapped your arms around his neck, not caring if your drink fell out of your cup at this point. “i told you to keep up,” you whispered into his ear as he wrapped his one arm back around you, the other raising to take a sip of his own drink. 

“and i am,” he answered before spinning you around once more, your hips starting right from where they left off. you making sure to press back against him a little harder than you were before. “i can’t help it that i’m a little bit shocked you know how to grind y/n/n, you’ve never been to parties, never been to a school dance where kids grind. i’m shocked that’s all.” 

you hummed before slowly your actions down, wanting to drag it out a little longer as the song was coming to an end. “it’s not like you need to go to class and learn ryder, it’s moving your hips,” you slurred, looking back at him with a smile. “and who’s to say i’m enjoying this?” you asked with raised eyebrows. 

ryder let out a laugh, not believing what you were saying at all. “i think you’re more than enjoying this y/n/n, i know i am.” your cheeks turned red at his words. “but i need another drink, and a breath of fresh air, wanna go to the backyard?” you looked down at your own cup, noticing how close it was to empty you agreed. “what are you drinking y/n/n, i’ll make it,” ryder offered with a smile.

“straight vodka,” you answered sliding on to the barstool. you watched as he topped your cup off before refilling his completely. “so the backyard?” you asked standing from your stool, your head going fuzzy from standing too fast. ryder’s hand found the small of your back helping you stay up right without the pounding in your head. “thanks,” you smiled before leading him out to the sliding glass door that lead to your patio. 

you were surprised to find that not anybody was in the pool, and made a not of it as you lead ryder to the deep end. glancing back at him you noticed how he was looking at everyone around you not even realizing that you had stopped walking. taking a deep breath you took a long drink from your cup before setting it down next to you. in an instant you were pulling the tight fitted shirt from your body, leaving you in the bra and jean skirt lexi and chloe has forced on you. “y/n, what are you doing?” ryder asked watching you through the dark as your hands went to the buttons in your skirt. 

“living a little ryds, everyone’s said this party would be a banger since the pool but nobody’s touched it,” you slurred, kicking your unlaced converse off. “so i guess i’ll start the trend.” his eyes went wide as he heard what he figure was your skirt dropping to the ground. “y/n, you’re not skinny dipping,” somehow even with alcohol running through his veins he was managing to think straight. 

“oh yeah?” you challenged taking a step closer to him. you placed your hands on his chest with a smirk, “watch me.” in a flash your bra and thong were gone, and you were jumping into the pool. there was no way you’d be doing this if you were in the right state of mind, but you were wasted. so here you were swimming in your dark pool watching as other people followed your lead. 

you could hear ryder sigh, before he followed you in. “happy now?” he asked swimming up next to you. 

“very,” you whispered, throwing your arms around his neck. something all the girls at your party dreamed of, but here you were stealing their moment since ryder hadn’t left your side since he watched you walk down the stairs in a new outfit, his jaw completely dropping. 

“you know i’m impressed,” he replied, arms wrapping around your waist pulling your bare body closer to his. “i thought there wasn’t going to be any parties at the l/n household.” your eyes rolled as he laughed at your words from wednesday. when his laughter died the both of you fell silent. ryder’s brown eyes glancing down to your lips, you doing the same with his. without wasting another second you were pulling his head down so his lips could meet yours. your mind went fuzzy, and it wasn’t from the vodka you had been slamming all night, but from the fact he was kissing you.

ryder donovan was kissing you in your pool, and was this close to you. your eyes shot open as your buzzed brain finally came too, realizing your we’re kissing him naked in your pool. pulling away you looked up at him with red cheeks. “ryder, we’re naked right now!” you squealed not fully back to yourself.  

“yeah, you were the one to start that babe.” your cheeks flushed as you pulled away from him. “where are you going y/n/n? we don’t have any towels.” 

“fuck.” you turned around to look at him with wide eyes. “how are we supposed to get out if we don’t have towels ryder?” you then asked arms crossing over your chest, worried someone would turn the backyard light on. 

he just shook his head as he swam closer to you, “maybe you should’ve thought this through y/n/n. this was all of your idea remember.” before you answered you just stared at him, trying to think about what ran through your head, and came up with nothing. “you don’t remember, do you?” ryder laughed, his arms caging you in against the side of your pool. 

“no,” you sheepishly whispered, your eyes slowly looking up to meet his. “is that bad?” 

ryder shook his head, his wet hair landing on his forehead. “not at all love,” that word alone had your stomach doing flips, “it just means we should probably cut back on the vodka, okay?” you nodded as answer, arms wrapping back around his neck. ryder cocked an eyebrow as he smirked down at you, “what do you think your doing y/n?” 

“making a good use of my time,” you answered, leaning forward and pressing your lips against his. your mind went fuzzy again, and the thought of you both being without clothes didn’t cross your mind anymore. how could it when you were too lost in the feeling of ryder’s smooth lips against yours? it wasn’t long until your hands were running through his chlorine filled hair, tugging on it slowly as you went. 

ryder’s hands found your hips, squeezing them once he found your bare skin. he pulled away from you first, his lips landing on your jaw before working up to your ear. you couldn’t help but giggle as you felt him smile against your wet skin. “you do realize we’re naked right?” he asked just in an effort to tease you. 

you nodded as you pulled his hair to have him look back at your face. “how are we supposed to get out and dry off?” you asked, one hand now running down his toned chest the other still playing with the hair on the back of his neck. “how is anyone here supposed to get out and dry off ryds?” 

he laughed before pressing another kiss to your lips, “that’s not my problem babe.” his lips then landed on the side of your neck once more, a drunk smile growing on your face as he kissed against your skin. from across the pool you could hear logan and ricky yelling at the two of you to get a room, but at this point you weren’t worried about what they thought. you were too far gone to care about anything other than ryder being this close to you, with his lips on your neck. 

“oh my fucking god.” your eyes went wide and you pushed ryder off of you to turn and face chloe. “i came out here to bring you guys towel, i wasn’t expecting this.” your cheeks heated up fast glancing down and realizing you were in fact naked. chloe hummed before throwing down on the lawn chairs next to your clothes, rolling her eyes. “first party and y/n’s already getting more than katie, lexi, or i ever have at a party.” 

ryder’s hands squeezed your hips causing you to jump. “she’s also probably had more you guys have ever drank at a party before,” he pointed out causing you to turn around and your mouth to drop open. you slapped his chest, not impressed with his comment. 

“that’s not fair,” you huffed crossing yours arms over your chest. chloe looked down at you with a pointed look, but not before a smirk worked it’s way on to her face. “okay fine, you guys are right. but at least i’m having fun,” you slurred while trying to roll your eyes. you sighed before pushing ryder’s hands off of you and walked over to push yourself up out of the pool, chloe grabbing one of the towels and handing it to you right away. 

wrapping yourself in a towel you looked over to chloe with a smile, thanking her without saying it. “i’m going to get you guys another drink so you’re come back in to dance!” chloe squealed with a huge smile. “this way you can dry off and change, oh and get ready because people are doing body shots in your kitchen.” 

your e/c eyes went wide, and you weren’t sure if it was because you were slowly becoming more sober or because you wanted to join in. “body shots?” ryder asked from still inside the pool not wanting to get out until chloe had left. “i don’t think tha-” 

“i want to do body shots!” you yelled causing everyone in your backyard to turn and look at you. you held your towel tighter to your body, paranoid that even though it was dark and it fell people would still see you naked. that was something you didn’t want to happen. as soon the people in your backyard broke out into cheers you fell out of your paranoia. “can i do body shots chlo?” you then asked not even bothering to look down at ryder who you assumed was disappointed with your decision.  

she nodded her head really fast with a smile. “oh hell yeah you can girl!” she threw her hands on your shoulders, gently shaking your body. “you have the perfect partner to do them with too,” causing the both of you to look down to ryder whose arms were crossed over his chest. right away he was shaking his head. “he may not want to right now, but once we get another drink in him he will in no time. i mean you guys were just making out in your pool naked.” with that chloe walked back into your house, ryder jumping out of the pool and wrapping a towel around his waist. 

“you really want to do body shots?” he asked raising an eyebrow in the process. when you nodded your head, he tilted his to the side not sure if he was understanding correctly. “y/n/n, babe, do you even know how to do a body shot?” ryder then questioned, his hands grabbing on to your bare shoulders. 

“nope,” you sang with a cheeky smile, “but it sounds like fun! and i want to have fun.” 

in an instant ryder was shaking his head at you. “okay fine, we can do body shots,” he answered with a slight smile, it was your turn to tilt your head to the side, not following a thing he was saying. he shook his head at you, “just put your clothes back on and you go watch the people that area already doing them.” you nodded your head slowly, turning away from him to find your clothes in the dark. 

“ryder, i can’t find my clothes,” you whined slumping down on to the lawn chair. “i can’t get dressed without them,” you frowned looking over at him, eyes drawn to his back muscles you hadn’t paid any attention to until right now. you might have started drooling over it if it weren’t for him clearing his throat. 

“i think these are yours,” after he spoke he held up your lace thong causing your cheeks to flush red, and when he walked them over to you, you could just barely see that his were too. he handed them to you before walking back over to his clothes, and carefully putting them back on. you did the same once your realized that your clothes were right at your feet. you were quick to pull on your thong and bralette, pulling the skirt and shirt back on with ease. “hey do you see my shoes?” ryder then asked coming to stand in front of you while you pulled your high tops back on. 

“what shoes were you even wearing?” you answered looking down at his bare feet, then back up his body to meet his eyes. “because i don’t even know.”

his eyes looked around next to you, landing on a pair of white converse, “just kidding they’re right there.” he pulled them on with ease before offering your his hand, “are you sure you want to do this y/n/n? because you don’t have to.” you nodded your head right away, “okay then let’s go get another drink in you, i’m pretty sure chloe just walked out here.” 

just like that your brunette friend was back, handing you and ryder new red solo cups. “everyone’s waiting for you guys inside, it’s your turn for shots!” she exclaimed before grabbing your free hand and dragging you through your backyard and into your kitchen. the island in your kitchen was a mess, but then against everything in your kitchen was a mess. “finish your drink, then get up on the island!” chloe squealed before walking back over to lexi and katie who were all ready to record this. 

without wasting a second you threw your drink back in record time, everything standing around in your kitchen cheering as you did. “you ready for this?” ryder whispered into your ear sliding up right behind you. 

“of course i am,” you boasted, “i’m ready for anything.” you walked away from the hockey player, allowing him time to finish up his drink while you hopped up on to the island. more cheers broke out in the small area, and you watched as ricky shot you a wink. ryder was soon standing right next to you, eyes looking over the counter and everything he needed to make this happen, he then looked back at you with a slight smirk. “what’s with that look ryds, you were the one who didn’t even want to do this,” you teased while nudging him with your knee. 

“yeah well suddenly i want to,” he answered before giving you a once over. “you might want to take your shirt off for this love.” 

“take my shirt off?” you asked nothing really processing in your head. 

before ryder could even open his mouth to answer you, logan and ricky had started to chant, “take it off! take it off!” soon the entire kitchen, and probably everyone that was at the party was chanting take it off. 

letting out a sigh your hands grabbed your shirt, pulling it up and over your body, everyone going crazy once again, mostly because they couldn’t believe you were actually doing this. “now lay back,” ryder instructed, his hands pushing your body flat against the marble counter. you tried lifting your head to see what he was doing, but he pushed your body down flat once again. 

goosebumps filled your hot skin as you felt his tongue run against the exposed skin of your diagramph causing you to gasp at the feeling. you could feel him smirk against you, before he finished it off with a light kiss. lexi and katie were now standing by your head, already in the process of recording, watching his next move. chloe was handing ryder the salt, which he poured on to your body. “here’s the tequila,” the bottle was once again handed off to ryder. his brown eyes looked at the bottle, then met your eyes, then back to the bottle. a shiver ran up your up your spine as you felt the tequila fill your belly button, and the skin around it. “and the lime to finish it off, ryder the honors is yours.” 

he took one step so he was now standing next to your head, “here you go babe.” he shot you a wink before walking to the end of the island were your legs were hanging off from. he was quick to stand between them, ready to start his shot since everyone was cheering for him too. he leaned over, drinking all of the tequila from your naval, and the skin around it before lifting himself up on to the island, now hovering over your body as he made quick work of the salt that lined your skin. 

finally he climbed his entire way up to your mouth, biting the lime to finish it off. he sat up straight so he was now straddling your waist as he sucked out all of the lime juice as everyone went nuts around the two of you. you could tell from the look in his eyes he wasn’t quite done yet, and right as you went to rest on your elbows he was pushing down once more. he spit the lime out before his lips landed on yours, causing gasps to fill your ears. only to you were too focused on how he now tasted of tequila and lime to care. 

your hands flew to his hair, pulling on it so he’d look at you and your heated make-out session didn’t become anything more than that. his lips rest on the shell of your ear, allowing you to hear just how out of breath he was. “i think it’s time you and me disappear love.” the corners of your lips pulled up at his words.

“yeah?” 

ryder hummed before he sat back up so he was straddling your waist again, “yeah.” with that he swung his legs over the side of you and hopped off the island, waiting for you to do the same. you eyed your shirt in your hand, causing ryder to grab your wrist that was holding it, “i wouldn’t even bother putting that back on love. i’m just gonna take it right back off anyways.” 

your cheeks flushed again as you hopped down from the island, immediately burying your face into ryder’s chest so people couldn’t see how bad he had just made you blush. he then began leading you out of your kitchen, receiving pats on the back from guys on the team, and anyone he passed by. as soon as the two of you were out of the crowds and on the stairs his lips landed on yours, making sure to push you up against the wall. “you know i’ve been waiting for this all night?” you asked, arms draping over his shoulders. 

his eyes went wide with shock, surprised to hear you say that. “wait, actually y/n/n?” 

“mhm,” you hummed with a smirk of your own. “promise to show me a good time?” 

“for you y/n/n, always.” 

-

groaning you slowly sat up in your bed, the pounding in your head only getting worse. you were barely sitting up for ten seconds before the door was pushed open, lexi peeking her head inside with a wide smirk, “i fucking knew it.” you were quick to shoot her a glare, then looked to where her eyes were staring. which just so happened to be your bare shoulders. with wide eyes you held the comforter closer to your chest. “anyways, i just wanted to say you threw a fucking amazing party like i said you would. and it was definitely the best of the year. see you on monday y/n/n. i’ll leave you to your new man.” 

before you could even get a word out she was already gone, slamming the door behind her. you let out a whimper as the pounding in your head started to worsen from the noise. leaning over your bed, you grabbed a sweatshirt that was laying there and pulled it over your naked chest, and god were you just in time. within seconds of you pulling the sweatshirt on your door was being opened once more, only this time your parents were standing in the door looking around the mess you made when you and ryder stumbled your way into it. “oh my god y/n what happened to your room?” your mother asked unimpressed with the fact your pictures were croaked. 

that may or may not have been from ryder pushing you against the wall. “uh, i’m not sure,” you answered trying to keep your answers short so you didn’t cause the pain in your head to worsen. “what are yo-” 

“did you have a party?” your dad then asked causing you to look at him. your eyes went wide was you slowly nodded your head praying that the rest of your house wasn’t trashed. you had no idea what your living room, kitchen, and backyard looked like. you never went back down once you guys went upstairs. “oh my god, is that a hickey?” your dad then asked causing you to look down on your neck and sure enough it was. if your neck was this bad, you couldn’t imagine what the inside of your thighs, and hips looked like. 

“i can’t believe this d/n, she actually had a party,” your mom said while shaking her head. “i don’t know if i should be impressed or upset with her.” only your dad just shook his head meaning your mother had said the wrong thing. 

your father sighed as he grabbed the bridge of his nose. “you know, nobody else throws parties on this road,” he stated trying to guilt trip you. “why would you of all people have a party?” he then asked trying to understand what had happened to his perfect little girl.

“well, i uh, i wasn’t going to have a party,” you mumbled trying to think of the words to say. “people just kinda showed up, and i didn’t know how to get rid of them.” 

your mother shook her head, while your father stood there trying to piece together what you had given him for information, which was nothing. “i bet ryder donovan didn’t come,” she then spoke and you had to stop yourself from burst out into laughter for two reasons. the first being that ryder wouldn’t be at a party, and the second being you had sex with him. “he never has, or goes to parties,” she then added, which just happened to be a total lie. “why can’t you be more like him y/n, he’s such a good kid.” 

your dad nodded his head to agree with your mom, “oh ryder donovan from next door? he’s the best.” you rolled your eyes arms crossing over your chest, not wanting to hear a lecture on how ryder was the best when you for a fact he was just as shitfaced as you were. “you’re mother’s right sweetheart, why can’t you be more like ryder?” 

your mouth dropped open, not believing what your parents were saying. “come on guys, i never do anything wrong, and you’re not really making my headache any better. can’t we talk about this later or something?” their mouths then dropped open at your confession of drinking, but at this point you didn’t care. shaking their heads the walked out of your room, the door closing behind them. 

groaning you ran your hands back over your face, right as ryder sat straight up in bed next to you, holding the comforter to his chest. “you don’t think they know i’m here, do you?”

[explosionshark]

44. "I care about you"

“You can’t keep doing this,” Max says, surprised by how steady her voice comes out, even if she can’t say the same for her hands, trembling as they pressed wadded up paper towels into Chloe’s palms.

Chloe’s mouth (that beautiful, stubborn mouth) twists in annoyance, but she tips her head away from Max, petulant, eyes locked on some spot in the distance as if she never heard.

Another night, maybe earlier in their reunion, the display would have worked. Max would have shrunken back on herself, afraid to make the wrong move, to push Chloe too far and make things worse.

Tonight there’s too much blood already spilled, the headache that feels like it could crack her skull open is too sharp, and the memory of the horrible fate the last rewind had barely managed to spare Chloe from still crackling under Max’s skin like a livewire.

“I know you heard me,” Max says lowly, pressing down harder onto Chloe’s scraped palms and regretting it instantly when she catches the wince Chloe can’t quite hide behind her stoic act. She loosens her grip instantly, sliding her thumbs up to press against Chloe’s pulse, tugging Chloe’s hands into her warm lap.

Chloe sways into Max’s body, caught off guard, and Max finally catches her eyes through the curtain of blue hair fallen over her face. 

“Chloe,” Max tries again, frustration roughening her voice, swallowing hard against the sudden lump in her throat. “Promise me.”

“Promise you what?” Chloe sneers and there’s a flash of blood on her swollen bottom lip. Max doesn’t know if she hurt herself in the fall or if she’d bitten through it in the aftermath. Max takes a deep breath, focuses on the way Chloe’s sharp tongue flicks out the swipe the blood away. It’s something to distract her from the venom in Chloe’s glare, the winding tension in her own chest.

“Promise me you’ll stop and think for a second instead of doing whatever stupid, reckless thing pops into your head next time,” Max snaps, feeling herself only getting more annoyed when Chloe’s scowl deepens. “You could have died!”

“Yeah, but I didn’t,” Chloe snarls, like Max is the one being ridiculous, and tries tugs her hands out of Max’s lap, wraps her arms around herself and hunches down into herself. “I’m fine. I don’t get why you’re flipping out like this.”

“You’re not fine,” Max has to fight the urge to reach out and shake Chloe, balling her own hands up into fists over her knees. “You’re hurt.”

Chloe scoffs, twists her body further away from Max. “Please. This is nothing. I’ve had worse.”

The light’s too low but Max squints through it and imagines she can see the faded purple shadow over Chloe’s cheekbone. She feels a flush of shame and anger at the memory of cowering in Chloe’s closet, buffeted by old flannel shirts and a ragged denim jacket as David put his hands on her.

“That doesn’t make this better, Chloe,” Max tries to gentle her tone, but the tension cracks her words in the middle. “I’m worried about you.”

“You must be the only one,” Chloe says darkly. “And you’ll get over it pretty quick, Max. You did before.”

“Stop throwing that back in my face.”

“Stop treating me like I’m some dumb little kid that needs someone to protect her from herself!”

“Well then stop acting like one!”

"This was such a mistake,” Chloe groans, running a hand through her hair and immediately wincing and dropping her arm when her raw palms scrape her head. “Fuck!”

She balls her hands into fists, slamming them into her own thighs as she jolts off the tailgate of the truck to pace the slick ground in front of them.

There’s that impulse again that swells up in Max, a tide of rising apologies and platitudes. The instinct to make herself smaller, more conciliatory, to smooth things over. Chloe hadn’t been wrong: Max had been the one to leave. The second of many who’d gotten close to Chloe and walked away with a piece of her she couldn’t quite get back.

But there’s this streak of blood at Chloe’s hairline, smeared from her palms just moments ago and Max knows if she lets this one go, if she brushes it off, nothing will change. And maybe confronting Chloe won’t work after all, maybe all she’ll do is strain and break the fragile thing that hangs between them now, but if she doesn’t try and Chloe gets hurt or worse again she’ll never be able to forgive herself for being such a coward.

“Chloe, stop,” Max says, sliding off the tailgate and stalking back up to Chloe again. “Please. I can’t keep doing this.”

Chloe’s whole body flinches but she finally stops pacing. “Doing what?”

Saving you, Max almost gives voice to her darkest fears. Afraid she’ll be too late, too overwhelmed, too slow or stupid or exhausted to protect Chloe - that she’ll end up paying for Max’s weakness with her life.

Instead she takes a ragged breath and says, “Watching you get hurt.”

“Then don’t,” Chloe says, voice flat and cold. She stands there in the dark, perfectly still and looking hard and unreachable, even as Max watches the tears gather at the corners of her eyes. “Just go, Max. Just leave me alone. Again.”

“No, Chloe,” Max says, steady even as the tears in Chloe’s eyes finally break free, trailing down her cheeks. She wants to step closer, to pull Chloe into her arms and hold onto her until the panicked look in her eyes melts away, but she’s afraid if she moves now Chloe will bolt. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Why not? You did before,” Chloe chokes, finally, swiping angrily at her wet cheeks with the back of her knuckles. “Rachel did. No one ever stays and why would they? Look at me.”

She laughs bitter and throws her arms out, bloody palms open to the glow of the parking lot lights. “That’s the worst part of all the shit David spouts at me. That he’s right. That no one can stand to be around me. Not for long.”

“No, Chloe, he’s wrong,” Max says and inches closer. Chloe shudders, swallows a sob, but doesn’t back away when Max settles a tentative hand on her hip. “He shouldn’t say those things to you.”

It’s Chloe who crumples forward, wrapping her body around Max, leaning into her hard. Max can feel Chloe’s heartbeat racing against her ear, can feel very jerk of her lean body as she struggles to hold in her tears. “You’ll leave.”

“Maybe,” Max says and Chloe stiffens, tries to jerk away, but Max tightens her grip and shushes her. “Wait. Calm down. You have to trust me.”

“You’ll leave,” Chloe whimpers into Max’s hair.

“Not without you,” Max says. “Not again. I promise.”

“You don’t mean it,” Chloe sniffs.

“I do,” Max realizes she’s crying too and decides not to hide it. She pulls back takes Chloe’s head between her hands and tips it backwards until they’re face to face. “Look at me. Chloe, I care about you.”

Chloe’s face breaks open, grief and need and fear and awe pouring off of her in waves.

“I love--”

Chloe’s mouth swallows the rest of Max’s declaration. The kiss is frantic, hard enough at the start to hurt. It tastes like copper from the blood on Chloe’s tongue, like salt from the tears on her lips. Her fingers scrabble roughly in Max’s sweater, one creeping up to tangle in her hair. She holds on like if lets go for even a moment she’ll fly off the ground, up into the sky.

Max has never been kissed like this, with so much intensity it scares her a little. Chloe has never seemed so fragile than she is in this moment, trembling against Max’s frame, panting into Max’s mouth, begging with her whole body for someone to hold onto her.

Max breaks the kiss, keeping Chloe close with a guiding hand on the back of her head and takes a few desperate gulps of cool autumn air.

Chloe’s still frenzied, half-crazed, tries to kiss Max like she’d fall all the way through her if she could. Her panic, jagged and icy and sharp, melts in the warmth of Max’s kiss.

I mean it, she tries to say in the gentle, tentative brush of her tongue past Chloe’s parted lips.

I mean it, she tries to say with the gentle scrape of her nails against Chloe’s scalp.

I mean it, she tries to say, pressing her palm down over the back of Chloe’s hand, splayed over Max’s heart so she can feel its wild beat and know she’s not alone.

Maybe it should be scarier than it is, to finally take this step, to let things between them change this much, this suddenly.

But Max can’t feel fear anywhere in her body, not anymore. Not about this.

Everything else? These powers? The terrifying dreams she’s been having? The headaches and the dark secrets of the bay and mysteries of Blackwell?

But pulling back to brush the hair out of Chloe’s eyes, tracing Chloe’s bottom lip with the pad of her thumb, pulling her into another kiss, even slower and sweeter than the last?

There’s no fear in this at all. She is only coming home.

angst/fluff writing prompts

[krispyalpacaduck]

Music Lessons With The Devil Chapter 2

Lucifer x OC fic

Rating: R, for language

A/N: I changed the character’s name while writing this. Her name is now Isra or Is for short.

Part 1 Part 3 Part 4

I heard someone yelling my name and looked up to see Chloe running full speed at me, nearly crashing into me when she caught up. Bending over to get her breath back, I laughed, “Good morning to you too, Chloe.”

Thrusting her phone into my face, she squealed, “10. Million. Views…Overnight! Over. Night, Is!”

I stopped, taking the phone from her hands so I could see what she was trying to show me.

It was a clip of Lucifer and I playing at Lux the night before.

“Wow…” I breathed.

“You are viral, girl!”

“Psh. I’m only viral because of him.”

“What do you mean?”

I gave her back her phone and said, “It’s on a Lucifer fan site.”

“Oh, stop it! You were incredible and you know it!” She lightly tapped my arm. “Stop being so modest.”

I handed her back her phone as we walked along the path.

“So… what do you think?”

“I hate him.”

My answer was so sudden Chloe took a step back.

“Not the answer I was expecting. You guys were so electric last night! Did you see the way he was looking at you? Did you feel the room when you played together?? Why do you hate him?”

“I can’t explain it but something about him is just so extremely off putting. I told you last night that that type of man and myself do not get along. Not to mention that attitude and ego? And what Maze said about a list to reserve a spot? Do women literally line themselves up to sleep with him? He’s the absolute worst type of man! God, I wanted to smack him 10 ways to Sunday. He’s dangerous, Chlo.”

Chlo snorted and laughed. “Lucifer? He wouldn’t hurt any-”

“I don’t mean physically. I mean that he’s the kind of man who once you’re on his radar, you don’t get away unless he chooses to let you go. Call it a hunch, but I think I’m in that man’s cross hairs. Buried deep like a tick.”

She got a playful smile on her face. “I feel a but in there.”

I sighed. “Damn you and your perceptions. But I did enjoy playing with him. I’ll think about it as long as he is clear that this is a professional relationship. I’m not about to be another one-night stand for him.”

Chloe ‘s face dropped.

“I know he’s a lot to take in and deal with. Believe me there, but Is… he’s not like the-”

“Good morning, Detective! Coffee for you!”

Lucifer’s bright and cheery face was not what I needed to see this morning. My cheeks flushed at the sound of his voice. The eyes, the way he looked at me. How close we’d been… It all came flooding back in.

“I gotta go Chloe. Class is about to start. Talk to you later.”

She squeezed my arm affectionately with a small smile and watched me walk away.

“Isra!” I heard Lucifer exclaim.

“Last night was exhilarating! You made this old Devil happier than he’s been in a very long time. I’d love to do it again!”

I turned to face him. His smile was beaming, contagious.

“I had a lot of fun too. But listen I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later?”

“Actually,” Lucifer began, walking up to me. I felt his hand touch the small of my back. That electric shock was back. Fighting the urge to lean into it, I stepped to the side out of his reach.

His eyes furrowed before silent understanding dawned on his face. He brought his hand back, fisting it in embarrassment before putting it down by his side. “Right. Sorry. I wanted to talk to you about an arrangement.”

Juggling the bags on my shoulder, I said, “I’d love to, but really. I have to go. Running late for class.”

“Lucifer, she has to go.” Chloe said, grabbing him by the sleeve. “And so do we!”

Lucifer pouted at Chloe. “But -”

“She said she would talk to you later. Come on. Let’s go.”

“Yes, I guess you’re right. Crime doesn’t wait! I will see you later, Miss Isra.” He said cheerily.

I waved goodbye and turned back in a brisk walk towards the Los Angeles College of Music

.…………………………………………………………………………

Lucifer and Chloe had a case delivered to them about a murder near the Los Angeles College of Music.

“Huh….what a funny coincidence…”

“What’s that?” Chloe asked.

“Isra works at that college, right?”

“Yeah, she does.”

“Well, guess we should pay her a visit!”

Chloe stood with her arms folded across her chest, a knowing look on her face.

“The college, I mean. We should question the Dean right since it was his assistant that was murdered?” Lucifer said, cheerily.

“Lucifer, this is an active police investigation. You will leave her alone while she’s teaching.”

He looked offended. “I give you my word."

…………………………………………………………………………

“Did you hear what happened to Cindy?” My assistant said, leaning against my door frame.

“I did. That’s so awful. Who would want to do something like that?”

“I don’t know. The Dean is just sick about it.”

“They were a thing weren’t they?”

“On the DL yeah, but I think everyone knew.”

“That’s so sad. Have they announced a service yet?” I asked quietly.

“I think Friday at 3.”

She came over to me for a hug. I hugged her back as I heard her sniffle.

When she pulled back, I kept my hand on her arm. “My best friend works for the LAPD. If there’s anyone who can find who did this, it’s her.”

She nodded her head and walked out.

In the silence, I was left to my thoughts. As I sat staring at the piano, last night’s events flooded back. It was exhilarating. I’d felt like myself again for a brief moment. No worries, no fears. Just music. I’d played as an accompaniment loads of times before but… no one had ever made me feel the way he did last night… There was something about him that made me tap into a more bare, carnal side of myself that I thought I had locked away. My heart skipped a beat as I remembered his face and the way he stared at me.

Pushing back from the piano, I said, “Nah. Nope. Nada. Net. Nein. Nope nope nope!” Smacking myself a few times in the face, I said, “Pull. Yourself. Together. Pretty faces equal bad.” Mocking myself, I said, “Let’s test the Devil shall we?” Then snorted with laughter. More like test the cement that held up the wall I’d erected.

My heart physically hurt. It hurt to hide who you really were. Who you really wanted to be. I wanted to feel like that again. The way I did with him but knew I couldn’t. As much as I loved music, sometimes music betrayed me. For me, it was like a high that came with an eventual addiction that led to sudden withdrawal. The way someone made me feel when I played with them made me want to chase that high forever. That chase had left me heartbroken, and in one case, almost dead.

After that, I vowed to make it incredibly difficult for someone to love me. For someone to get close to me. It pissed me off that he was able to slide in under the radar. How easily he had slipped through the cracks of that iron wall around my heart.

Feeling my eyes burn at the corners, I angrily swiped at them. I’d felt like this before. Wanting to chase it and holding back because I knew what would happen. I thought I was past this. Thought I was stronger than this. It wasn’t fair.

‘Listen. Life isn’t fair. Life is full of shit-for-brains people. Life is full of psycho people. Life is full of people who can’t handle who you are. You’re going to get hurt. No one gets out of this life without experiencing it. You might think putting your walls up protects you but in reality you’re protecting the world from you.’

I looked up at her slowly, eyes red from crying.

‘It’s so easy to put up that wall and ball yourself up in fear, hate and regret. Don’t forget about all the good that there is in this world. Don’t build the wall up! Instead, knock that motherfucker down! Bare yourself to the world. Let them see who you are! And if a motherfucker wants to disrespect you, then you remind that motherfucker who you are. You remind yourself who you are. You are Israfel Giannone! And no one messes with you!’

The conversation with my grandmother faded from my head. I swear she was keeping tabs on me from the grave, always knowing when to pop in when I needed her the most. It made me smile thinking of that conversation. She always swore when she was angry at someone for making me doubt my self worth. It was aggressive, but hey she was Italian.

I wondered how my grandmother would’ve handled the former lover, ‘Another musician, fancy that’. I seethed inwardly, from an Italian mob family who had left me for dead. I laughed quietly to myself, imagining her 93 year old frame chasing after him with her slipper, yelling profanities. She might’ve been little, but she was fierce!

I looked up to the ceiling, clutching the locket on my chest.

“I will try, Nonna. But it’s not that easy…”

I put one of my headphones in and started to play Fly by Ludovico Einaudi, putting all of my emotions into it

.…………………………………………………………………………

I said good morning to my students as they filed in for class, greeted with the usual grunts and hollow hello’s. Most of my students took this as an elective so I doubt many of them actually cared about it. I turned around and wrote on the chalkboard the lesson for the day, waiting for them all to be seated.

When things quieted down, I read through the roster, checking off the students as they called out “Here.” or leaving a circle if there was no response. I was almost to the end when I saw a name that was new.

“Lucifer? What in God’s name-”

“Devil, actually.”

I looked up to see him smiling at me.

“Buongiorno, maestro.” He said in a deep, flirty voice with a cheeky wave.

A busty blonde next to him twirling her hair in her finger smacking chewing gum obnoxiously laughed over exaggeratedly, “O.M.G. You speak French? That’s so hot.”

I resisted the urge to walk over to my cabinet and slam my head through it. I watched Lucifer making googly eyes at her and definitely NOT being shy about checking out her chest. I couldn’t help the animalistic sound that came from my throat. Two of the things I despise most in life were sitting right in front of me: womanizers and airheads.

Lucifer’s eyes snapped up to check out the sound he heard, his mouth falling open.

“Are you done?”

He booped the blonde on the nose, giving her a wolfish grin.

“Right. Sorry. Carry on.”

“Fottuto idiota.” I said. 

Lucifer sat up, offended. “Now I don’t think that’s necessary!”, with the blonde screeching, “O.M.G. You speak it too?!”

Slamming a book down onto the podium, I gritted my teeth and said, “Read the first chapter of The Musician’s Guide to Aural Skills: Ear Training.” I made sure to stare a hole straight into Lucifer’s head.

Softening my voice I said, “I will be right back.”

I heard sounds of ruffling as the students did as I asked, not sure what would happen if they didn’t. Walking back to my office, I sat down, trying to calm my anger. 

“How does Chloe deal with this?” 

Lucifer popped into the doorway, seconds later.

“Isra, I-”

In a split second, I stood up, grabbed him by his jacket, pulled him into the room and slammed the door. He stumbled into the wall next to my desk as I rounded, hands on my desk chair.

“Ti sei rincoglionito?!” 

“You are full of surprises! What was it again, French?” He had a smile on his face that I just wanted to smack right off of him.

I growled low in my throat, fisting my hands on my chair.

“Fine, I’ll play along. "Qualunque cosa intendi?” 

My voice was low and thick as I spat through gritted teeth.

“What… the fuck are you doing here?!”

..........................................................................................

A/N:  Fottuto idiota means “Fucking idiot.”

Ti sei rincoglionito means “Are you out of your mind?”

Qualunque cosa intendi means “Whatever do you mean?”

I used google translate so for the 1st and 3rd Italian phrases so it may not be 100% correct.

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