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alittlebitofloveliness · 2 months

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hiii idk if ur still taking requests or not but if u are literally any kind of darry angst would be amazing 🤗🤗

Hi anon! This is a bit more Curtis brothers angst but Darry centric exploring what might have happened if the Curtis parents died two years earlier. Please lmk what you think!

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“Please” Darry begs, “I’ll be eighteen in a month. A month! I swear I can take care of them. Please don’t do this.”

“I’m sorry,” the social worker says, and to her credit she does sound like she means it, “Since you're almost eighteen and because you’ve provided me with adequate proof you can support yourself I’m going to allow you to remain here at this time, but Sodapop is only fourteen and Ponyboy just turned twelve. They need a real guardian.”

“I can be their guardian,” Darry vows. It’s wrong they’re even having this conversation. His college acceptance letter sits on his desk, his football trophies on the shelf and yet he’d give all of it away in a heartbeat for this crackpot old woman to see sense, to understand that he’s just lost both of his parents and he cannot lose his brothers too. Why doesn’t she understand that? “You said it yourself, I can support myself. I can support them too. The lawyer said Mom and dad left me the house. I can officially claim it in a month, and I can cover bills until then. I already got three offers for another job, and I know how to cook and clean and drive-”

“Darrel,” the social worker cuts him off firmly but kindly, “this has nothing to do with whether or not you are capable. In fact, from what I’ve seen, and the frankly remarkable job you’ve done holding your family together I’d be more than happy to help you petition for guardianship of your brothers at a later time, if it’s still something you feel strongly about doing, but the fact of the matter is that almost eighteen is not the same as eighteen. You are not a legal adult, and you cannot be your brothers’ legal guardian until you are. It doesn’t matter how responsible or adult you are right now. It can’t happen.”

“Please,” Darry implores, “you can’t take them. We just lost mom and dad, I can’t lose them too.”

“I really am sorry,” she says, “and I mean it when I say I will help you try and get guardianship in a month. But I can’t let them stay with you right now, and honestly? Maybe it’s a good thing. I know you love your brothers but guardianship would mean putting your life on hold until Ponyboy turns eighteen- eight years from now. You couldn’t go to college, travel, do much of anything really. This month will give you time to think that over, decide if it’s something you’re truly prepared to do.”

Anger, bright and hot as a supernova bursts in his chest.

“I would do anything to keep them. Anything. I don’t want college or sports or nothing if it means they’d be stuck in some foster home with people who don’t care anything about them.”

“We make sure all our foster parents are vetted very carefully-”

“Yeah, sure,” Darry scoffs, “I know a dozen kids who grew up in the foster system. I’m sure all those bruises were just from kids being kids, especially the handprints. With all due respect, I think you’ve forgotten what part of town you're in. East side kids never end up in the good homes.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way.”

“Save your apologies,” Darry chokes, ashamed to feel hot tears start to prick his eyes, “it’s clear your mind is made up and ain’t nothing I can do to change it.”

“I promise you, I will help you try and get them back. As soon as you're eighteen.”

“I’ll call you the minute the clock hits midnight on my birthday,” Darry threatens, “see if I won’t.”

“That’s fair,” the social worker smiles but Darry refuses to smile back. He hates her, for all she is trying to be as kind and helpful as she can. She’s going to take his brothers away. To him, she can only ever be a villain, “you guys can stay together here one more night while I sort out placements for Ponyboy and Sodapop. I’ll be back at ten tomorrow morning. Do you want to tell your brothers or should I?”

Well Darry sure as hell isn’t going to break their hearts, and Ms. Summers has done a good enough job already of shattering what remained of his own.

“You do it,” he spits, “I ain’t gonna ruin their lives.”

Her sympathy has run deep enough that pity now reigns on her face and she ignores his attitude, the way she has ignored all his attitude so far. It’s more than he probably deserves. He still hates her for it.

“No,” Soda says before Ms. Summers has even finished explaining, his brown eyes shining with a primal sort of fear that puts another crack in Darry’s already broken heart. Soda was made to be grinning, not meant to ever look so terrified, “no you ain’t puttin’ me in no foster house. Me’n my brothers are stayin’ right here, together, thank you very much.”

“I’m afraid I wasn’t asking,” Ms. Summers says, still talking in that infuriatingly gentle tone.

Soda- easygoing, sweet Sodapop, who called ladies ma’am without fail, who everyone adored- glares at her, backing away the way a cornered animal might.

“I ain’t going! I ain’t! And you ain't taking Pony neither! Darry ain’t gonna let you take us, right Dar?”

He looks at him, brown eyes wide and desperate in his face, and Darry knows things will never be the same after this because it’s his job to protect Soda and Pony, always has been and always will be, and yet right now he is failing to do just that and Soda may never forgive him for it.

“Soda…”

“No!” He’s crying now, tears running freely down his face as he clutches Ponyboy close to his side, arm falling protectively around their baby brother’s tiny shoulders because Pony- whose eyes are the same sort of haunted they’ve been since mom and dad died, and whose face shows nothing but terrified resignation- hasn’t hit his growth spurt yet. Because he’s twelve. Only twelve.

“I know this is hard for you” Ms Summers continues, “and I’m going to do my best to make sure you and Ponyboy get placed together, but you can’t stay with Darry right now.”

“Why not? He’s good at bein’ a guardian. Shit, I’ve eaten more vegetables in the last week than I ever did when mom and Dad were alive-

“Because Darry isn’t eighteen.” Ms. Summers cuts him off, “and you need to be at least eighteen for the government to consider granting guardianship.”

“I’m gonna get you back,” Darry promises, ignoring the social worker and instead locking eyes with his brothers, first Soda, then Pony, “I swear it, as soon as I turn eighteen I’m gonna get you back and you can come home and we’ll all be together again. But we gotta behave if I’m gonna have any chance at all, so please stop arguin’. I don’t like this any more than you do but we gotta-” he clears his throat, “we gotta play ball, ok kiddo? We gotta do what we’re told.”

Soda gives the social worker one more murderous glance, but pulls himself together, a mask of eerie calm overtaking his features. “Fine.”

“Ill see you all tomorrow then. I can show myself out.” Ms Summers offers them one last pitying smile as she shuts the door behind her.

As soon as she’s gone Soda is on top of him, crying so hard he can hardly breathe,. Pony is clutching his other side so hard he might have bruises, and Darry wraps them both in his arms, wishing he could keep them here forever where they would be safe and he could help them relearn how to be happy. It’s somehow the worst and best moment of his life. On the one hand they’re still blissfully here with him. On the other hand, they won’t be for long.

“I’m sorry,” belatedly Darry realizes he’s crying too, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I tried everything, she wouldn't let me keep you, I tried, I tried.”

Pony just hugs him harder, burying his face in his chest and Soda wails.

Eventually they all stop crying, but the mood in the house is somber. The gang comes around, moods dampening one by one as they hear the news, and Darry makes chocolate cake for dinner since there’s no point in making healthy food if the social workers are taking the boys anyway. In the end it doesn’t matter- none of them have much of an appetite, even for cake.

He walks in on Steve and Soda plotting to run away together before the social worker comes. Talks them out of it by reminding them that he’ll never get guardianship if Soda goes truant while still technically in his care. Eventually, the gang leaves and the it’s the three of them once more, crowded together on the living room couch in an unspoken agreement. None of them want to sleep, unwilling to miss even a second that they have left together.

“Darry?” Pony whispers, his head resting on Darry’s shoulder.

“Yeah, bud?”

“I’m scared.”

“I know,” Darry says, heat clenching, “I’m scared too.”

A few minutes later Pony’s weight drops a little more against him and he starts to snore, out cold. Darry pulls him a little closer, plants a kiss on the top of his wild hair.

“Soda?” Darry says softly a few minutes later, careful not to wake Pony.

“Hmm,” Soda blinks at him sleepily, “yeah Dar?’

“Promise me you’ll take care of him,” he glances down at Ponyboy’s peaceful face. Asleep like this he looks downright childlike, “and yourself too, savvy? I’m sorry- I’m sorry I can’t do it myself, but you gotta be strong for me, alright? Just for a month or two until I get you back.”

“I promise,” Soda vows, “he’ll be safe with me, I’ll make sure of it. No matter where they put us.”

“I know you will, little buddy.” Darry sighs.

Soda sniffs. “I’m really gonna miss you, Dar. it ain’t right, takin’ me from my big brother when we just lost our folks. It ain’t right.”

“I’ll get you back,” Darry promises again, because what else is there to say, really? “I’ll talk to the president himself if I have to but I swear I’ll get you back.”

“I know you will,” Soda tells him, eyes shining.

They don’t talk for the rest of the night.

The morning dawns with a sunrise that mocks them with it’s beauty and a buttery sunshine that illuminates the sorrow on all their faces when Mrs. Summers shows up and they all have to say goodbye. The gangs around, everyone but Dallas who got jailed two days ago, and Pony and Soda take their time with their goodbyes. When Soda reaches Darry, he hugs him tight for a second, and gets chocked up trying to say something three times before he gives up. Pony hugs Darry with a strength he rarely sees from the kid, and Darry tells him over and over that he loves him because when things get tough that’s the sort of thing Ponyboy forgets.

Then they leave, Mrs. Summers' blue Toyota rounding the corner, and a big part of Darry’s heart goes with them.

He goes back inside. Steve and Two-bit both follow him, casting him concerned looks, but he can’t deal with their worry right now. He has twenty eight days before his birthday to compile an airtight case as to why he’s the perfect guardian for a teenager and a preteen boy, and three job offers on his desk that can make that case a lot more airtight than it currently is.

It’s time to get to work.

#the outsiders #darry curtis #ponyboy curtis #sodapop curtis #steve randle #two bit mathews

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kakiastro · 5 months

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Jupiter Gemini: Abundance of Information

Jupiter will enter Gemini on May 25th until June 9, 2025

After being in the earthly sign of Taurus, it moves into air sign.

So what does this mean for the collective?

- we are going to be talking!!!! 🗣️There’s going to be an abundance of idea and everyone is going to want their voices heard. On one hand this is good because new ideas that can further the collective, however, there’s going to be a lot of not so good ideas being brought up. Be prepared to see lots of ignorant statements, people being more vulgar in public.

-we are going to be talking a lot about wanting to find close knit communities, Gemini rules over our local communities. More people talking about moving abroad and getting their passports will be huge themes. We may start seeing lots of people talk about there experiences in their new neighborhoods

-friendships and people trying to find new besties to hang with. There’s going to be an overwhelming need of wanting to find loyal friends. On the other hand, you may lots of public friend feuds. Jupiter rules over law and court, friends suing each other. Gemini rules over rumors and gossip, so people spreading rumors about their friends.

-lots of stories about co-workers and the people you work with. People marrying their co-worker since Jupiter is one of the marriage planets.

-siblings. Working with/for siblings, siblings going to/back to college. Your siblings going through some legal issues. Siblings traveling together, re-connecting and bonding. Siblings feuds such as suing each other. Traveling with our siblings

- Jupiter is one of the father archetypes and it rules over husbands, brothers and grandfathers. Gemini rules over our cousins and uncles and aunts. Pay attention because these people in your life is going to have a lot to say. They may be more vocal about their beliefs and ideals, some may even surprise you in a good or bad way.

-our minds are going to be heavily stimulated from the amount of information that’s going to be thrown at us. I’m not even just talking about the media but just in everyday life lol. With Pluto Aquarius, it’s going to be a lot of stuff being revealed to the public. Some of these things might not be good. so please don’t burn yourself out because it can be too much. Gemini placements, especially you because Jupiter is in your sign.

-Jupiter rules over worldly events, I predict we will hear about more things going on overseas. I’m not just talking about ongoing events such as Palestine-Israel or Ukraine but I imagine we’re going to be hearing or be more self aware about other things going on in the world. Again, it could get overwhelming so don’t burn yourself out yall. This also includes word leaders.

-religion/religious figures. Jupiter rules over religion and churches. I can’t help but wonder if some sort of public scandal comes out about some religious figures. People discussing religion and the impact it’s had on the public. People wanting to find the truth. What’s truth vs what’s fiction will definitely be hot topics. There’s going to some controversial topics so heads up. People in your life may talk about religion such as religious trauma or their personal religious beliefs. People are about to be very outspoken in a way I don’t think we’ve seen before, I’m already seeing it after reading Billie Eilish interview 😅

-writers/authors. As a writer myself, I think this is going to be a good time for aspiring authors to start or publish their projects. The writing community is in an odd space since the rise of Ai and scammers making AI books, there’s a lot of uncertainty in the air. With that being said, the good news is that the general public is still very much interested in books written by real people so if you want to write and publish, do it!

-completely random but legs and running may be topics. People talking about best places to jog or run. Leg exercises may be another topic. Running marathons, people running there first one or winning their first, I predict an inspiring story to come out this summer. You know, I forgot the Olympics is this year so track and field runners will be heavily in the media.

-this is definitely a think before you speck transit and I know so many people are about fail that lesson😭. We’re all going to have to apply the rule thumper mama told him from Bambi “If you don’t have nothing nice to say, don’t say it all” 😅

-Teachers/Education. Possible teacher strikes or more teachers speaking out about their current frustration about the system. I predict the educational system to be completely reviewed and lots of changes are going to be made. I believe people are going to pursue different routes of education for their kids, especially those with disabled children. Teacher strikes wouldn’t surprise me. More College adults seeking education overseas than here. Speaking of college adults, there’s been a lot of protesting on campuses happening and I don’t see that stopping, if anything, it’s going to enhance even further. Perhaps even globally.

-transportations. Now I’m not entirely sure how this going to play out but people who work transportation make speak out about unfair work conditions or their could also be strikes. On the flip side, more people will buying or looking to buy cars. Cars from overseas may be hot topics. Trains stations, bus stops, bike trails may be topics.

These are the main themes of this topics. To see how it affects you personally, look at the house Gemini rules.

#astrology #astrology community #knowledge #astro observations #advanced astrology #birth chart #kakiastro #tropical astrology #jupiter in astrology #Jupiter Gemini

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eddiexmunsonlover-archive · 4 months

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One Step Away From You (Chapter 6)

BSF!Eddie Munson x PlusSize!Fem!Reader

Follow my new blog for future chapters & fics @eddiexmunsonlover

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Chapter Summary: You finally join Hellfire and restart your tradition of horror movie nights with Eddie. Diving into deep talks about the events of the last few years you've been apart. WC: 5.4k Warnings: MDNI. HEAVY spoiler warning for Eddie's Flight of Icarus book. Hurt and fluff, more mutual pining. Explicit language, mentions of toxic family relationships, violence, hurtful past relationships. If anyone is interested in being added to a taglist for each chapter, just comment, message, or send me an ask!

Friday, October 18th, 1985

After over 3 weeks of relentless pressure and questions of when you’d finally join the club from Eddie and the trio of younger boys, you finally cave in. It’s not that you hadn’t wanted to join, quite the opposite in fact. You missed Eddie’s creativity, enthusiasm, and dramatics when it came to campaigns. You always had so much fun when you’d join the younger boys’ campaigns over the years too, their bickering providing you with far more entertainment than the game itself.

You’d initially been a little apprehensive about joining given the older members, not wanting to feel like you were intruding. That apprehension quickly dissipated once you started joining the Hellfire table at lunch, quickly fitting in and joking around with Gareth, Jeff and Grant. Eddie wouldn’t have tolerated anything different, prepared to step in if the older members didn’t quickly accept you. This is a club for the freaks and outcasts of Hawkins to be fair, the idea that any of them wouldn’t quickly accept you, fellow outcast and long time friend of Eddie’s, would be almost out of question.

The only other issue with officially joining Hellfire was the meeting time on Friday evenings, when you’re scheduled to work at the restaurant. You didn’t think your Aunt Patty would be willing to let you go from working one of the restaurant’s busiest nights, but after much pleading and ensuring it’s for a school club meetings, not forgetting to mention how good it’ll look on college applications while leaving out the fact it’s for playing Dungeons and Dragons, she eventually relents and moves you to working Tuesday nights instead. It’s not an even trade at all for your aunt, switching from working a busy Friday night to a slow weeknight, but you sure as hell won’t mention it.

When you first walk into the theater room, you already wish you had joined sooner. It’s the perfect placement. Your eyes are immediately drawn to the stage lights that cast a glow around the room, the lit candles surrounding the game table, adding to the no doubt intense atmosphere you’d learned to expect from Eddie’s campaigns. Your eyes trail along the table to the throne-like chair placed at the head, Eddie already sitting in it with his face buried in his playbook. You smirk at the sight, typical Eddie going all out. He turns to greet you all with a wide, but sinister smile.

“Welcome, my sheep! Please, gather round so we may begin the grand trek to Mackbar!” he booms, voice deepening as he continues. He looks at you specifically, gesturing dramatically at the empty seat to his right.

“Special seat for our new member, m’lady.”

You giggle at his antics as a giddy excitement fills your belly, quickly walking over to claim your spot.

“So kind of you, Master.” you retort playfully as you take your seat. Eddie tries to hide the way the word falling from your lips makes his stomach do somersaults, on top of the way his red and black guitar pick necklace he gave you looks hanging around your neck, resting against your chest as if it was made for you.

“So, still a gnome cleric if my memory serves me correctly?”

“Nope. I’m a chaotic good wood-elf fighter named Vadania Moonflower.” you state confidently with a smile that Eddie quickly returns, eyebrows shooting up to his bangs.

“Mmm very interesting, I like it. Suits you well.”

The sound of Dustin clearing his throat breaks you both from the trance you’re in as you smile cheekily at each other, Dustin displaying a smirk of his own as he watches. With everyone settled in their seats with their figurines set, drinks and snacks waiting, Eddie begins the campaign. The deep theatrical voice he uses to set the scene and the party’s mission immediately draws and sucks you in. Soon finding yourself completely engulfed in your character and the world set for the game.

Everytime you’d joined in or watched the younger boys' campaigns over the years in Mike’s basement, you’d often imagined what it would be like to bring the boys and Eddie together for a campaign, two parts of your world combining so to speak. You smile as you look around the table now that it’s finally happening, utterly entertained at the interactions between Dungeon Master Eddie and the boys, the curveballs they throw at Eddie’s expectations for the game. He won’t admit it so easily, but he loves the way the new members keep him on his toes, sparking his creativity in those moments when things don’t go as planned.

He’s missed a lot of things about you over the years you’ve been gone. Seeing you utterly engrossed in his campaigns, now with more confidence in your character and abilities, is one of those things. Butterflies flutter in his chest as he watches you enact your character’s fierce disposition and fighting abilities, readily at the front lines to defend the party at any inkling of danger.

It’s a place where time doesn’t exist, not when you’re completely immersed in the elaborate story and gameplay set out by Eddie. Although to be fair you often feel that way when you’re with him in general, so consumed and grounded in his presence that time flies by.

Tonight is no different. Before you know it you’ve reached the end of tonight’s campaign, on a cliff-hanger at that. The time on your watch reads 8:33pm, 2 and a half hours having passed since you first took your seat at the table.

You decide to stay back and help Eddie clean up and collect his supplies.

“So what did you think? You have fun?” You smirk at the question as you throw away empty Mountain Dew cans.

“I think that I’ve really missed playing DnD with you,” you admit, letting out a breathy laugh. “Yeah, I had a lot of fun. I’m glad I came.”

“Yeah, me too.” He says, offering you a shy smile as he blows out the last lit candle.

Once everything is all packed up you walk out of the school together side by side, paying Eddie compliments for the campaign, compliments that you can almost swear are causing a blush to adorn his cheeks.

As you approach your cars, Eddie turns to you.

“Hey so uh I was wondering, how do you feel about taking up another one of our old traditions tonight? Horror movie night, what do you say?” He asks, hands tucked into his jeans pocket as he sways back and forth. “That is if you don’t already have plans?”

“No no, I’m free. I’d love that.”

“Perfect” he sings with a bright smile before gesturing to his van parked next to yours. “Just follow me to my castle then, sweetheart.”

Uncle Wayne’s trailer is a place that has always brought you comfort, a safe space in a way for you over the years. That sentiment extended to Uncle Wayne himself too. Anytime things were bad at home, Wayne ensured his door was wide open for you and it always was. Even when Eddie and you would play your guitars’ in his room a little too loud at times, he never said a word. He never had anything but kind words for you as a matter of fact.

You’ve only been able to see him once since you’ve been back, greeting you with open arms and a smile. Since he’s taken up night shifts he’s usually asleep during the daytime, leaving the trailer to Eddie on nights like tonight where the sounds of screaming victims from the TV won’t wake him from his slumber.

You make yourself comfortable, taking your usual spot on the worn loveseat sofa in the living room as Eddie rummages through the kitchen cabinets.

“What’s on the lineup for tonight?” you ask as Eddie returns to the living room with a bowl of popcorn and 2 cans of Coke. He smirks at you as he sets them down on the coffee table before turning around and sifting through tapes under the TV. “Well I figured, what better movie to mark the recommencement of our movie nights… gotcha” he begins, finally finding the movie he’s looking for before turning back to you, raising the movie for you to see, “than your favorite movie. Still your favorite right?” He asks, VHS tape of Halloween in hand.

You smile brightly, “Of course, you know me so well.”

He returns your smile, turning back and inserting the tape into the VHS player, almost giddily jogging over to turn down the lights around the trailer before joining you as the opening credits begin.

You both lean back into the loveseat, getting comfortable. Feet propped up on the coffee table, bowl of popcorn resting between you, shoulder to shoulder on the small sofa. You can feel the warmth radiating through his Hellfire tshirt to yours, finding yourself resisting the urge to lay your head on his shoulder like you’ve done many times before. All those times had been from sleepiness and comfortability with each other, you don’t want to acknowledge that you now craved the notion from purely wanting to feel more of his touch. Especially now after having him back in your life after years away, knowing he missed you too. But that urge stems from deeper feelings, feelings you have to continue burying if you want to keep him in your life after you’ve just gotten him back.

Neither of you speak for a while as you watch the movie you’ve both seen countless times you could recite it word for word. The very first movie you and Eddie had ever seen together at the theater, begging Wayne to be the adult to accompany you two.

Eddie reaches down to his lunchbox resting by his feet, flicking open the lid and quickly finding the joint he’s looking for. He hands it over to you with a smile.

“Care to do the honors?”

“My pleasure.” you take the joint and lighter from his hands, quickly lighting it and passing it back after your first hit. It’s a ritual you’ve quickly picked up over the last 3 weeks since your rekindled friendship.

Mid-way through the joint as you watch the high schoolers in the movie, a question you’ve been holding off asking crawls its way to the forefront of your brain.

“I’ve been meaning to ask… why exactly are you still at Hawkins High?” you question with a slight teasing in your tone as you pass the joint to him, “I mean I know it’s not because you’re not smart.”

When he sighs and a small frown forms on his lips in response, you almost regret asking.

“It’s a long story, bunch of bullshit.” he takes a drag before looking at you with a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, “And why exactly are you at Hawkins High, hmm? Miss Super Senior herself.”

“Well technically I’m not a super senior, thank you very much.” You roll your eyes at him playfully before sucking in a deep breath, “I’m not repeating my senior year. I failed 10th grade after the move, so…” you finish with a half-hearted shrug, casting your eyes back to the tv as you take another hit.

Eddie silently watches you as your words weigh on him. It’s not that he doubted you’ve told him the truth about how hard the move was, about how much it hurt. But hearing that it hurt so much that you flunked that year of school made it all really sink in for him.

He wants nothing more than to wrap his arms around you, pull you in for a hug with whispered wishes that it never happened. He resists though, he just got you back in his life, he can’t take you leaving again. He settles for extending his arm along the back of the loveseat behind your head, and decides to open up to you.

“I… some things happened my first senior year back in ‘84 that uh, pretty much made it impossible for me to graduate. Dad came back.”

Your eyes are quickly back on him, readjusting your body to face him more as you wait for him to continue. You’ve always known Eddie and his Dad never had a great relationship, an almost entirely absent father who cared more about himself than being there for his own son.

“I was living on my own at the house at that point. Then one day he’s back. I tried so hard to hold on to all that anger I had towards him, but he knew how to weasel his way through me with that ‘Munson charm’, telling me just what I wanted to hear. He had a ‘job’ that he insisted he only wanted me, needed me to help him with. I just so happened to really need the money… I’d met this girl, Paige.”

You were waiting for that part. You’d already heard of it, of her, from your mutual friend Ronnie over the phone at the time, but it didn’t stop your stomach from dropping at the mention of her name from Eddie’s own mouth.

“She happened to be at the Hideout one night when we were playing, visiting back home from LA. She was a junior scout for WR Records, offered to help us record a demo to send to her boss. Except her boss only liked me, got me an audition. We uh started seeing each other, she even offered for me to move in with her in LA. But I needed the money to get out there so… I agreed to do the job with Al. Stealing weed off a truck transporting it cross-country.” He scoffs, shaking his head in disbelief as he thinks back to the memory. Your eyebrows shoot up at the revelation, the bullshit Al Munson dragged Eddie into.

“We did it too. Sold it to Reefer Rick, and I got enough money to fix the van up and make the move out to LA. Except Al lied to me. Used me. He knew who that weed belonged to. An old boss he’d already stolen from. I came home the day before I was supposed to drive out to LA to his henchmen we stole from at the house. He gave them back the money that was left but… they shot off their guns, set the house on fire, shot Officer Moore.”

“Jesus Christ, Eds” you breathe out in shock, a million thoughts running through your head.

“I know. They scurried off but I went to try to help Moore, you know, do the right thing but Al… he did what he always did. Looked me in my eyes, told me I was the one changing the plans. I begged him to stay, for me… but he just left. Again.”

“Eds I…” Before you can reach your hand out to his shoulder with a consoling touch or mutter how sorry you are, he quickly starts back up.

“I was so stupid for trusting him again. For believing he came back for me, hoping that he’d stay for me.” He shakes his head at himself, quickly crossing his arms over his chest.

“No. Eddie, look at me.”

After a moment he finally brings his eyes to meet yours, defeat and disappointment displayed in their brown irises. Your hand reaches out to rest on his shoulder.

“You’re not stupid. You’re not. Of course you wanted to believe he’d be a real damn Father for once. It’s not your fault he preyed on that, your vulnerability. ”

You watch as his face and body slumps slightly with a sigh, offering you a small one-sided smile.

“Thank you, sweetheart.” he mutters softly before his gaze turns to his fidgeting hands. “That’s not even the worst part. I um, I lost Mom’s records in the fire. They were in the living room where the fire started. I-I tried but, I couldn’t save them.” He stammers dejectedly, voice cracking as he relives the painful memory. “I managed to replace one of the Muddy Water’s records but, that’s it…That was all I had left of her.”

You give his shoulder a squeeze, taking a deep breath as pain and anger course through you, a heaviness weighing on your chest. You know how much those records meant to him, his mother’s ‘plane tickets’ as she called them. You cherish the memory of the first time he shared them with you, of every time he’d tell you the early memories he has of her, dancing around the living room as they played.

“Those fucking assholes.” you seethe, shaking your head to stop the angry tears from forming as you hear the pain your best friend went through at the hands of his dad and his old ‘co-workers’. You look at him with his head down and immediately pull him to you, wrapping your arms tightly around him. His arms quickly wrap around your waist, burying his face in your shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Eddie. I know how much they meant to you.”

You didn’t know it, but feeling your embrace is exactly what he needs. He wished he could’ve had it that night. Convinced it would’ve made that living hell of a night just a little better. Sitting in that jail cell with Officer Moore’s dried blood still under his fingernails, wishing you were there despite the resentment he held for you at the time.

He holds you a little longer before he collects himself enough to face you again. Squeezing your hand as you part before relaxing back into his seat, turning his body to fully face you.

“That’s not even all of it.” He scoffs out a laugh before sighing, rubbing his hands against his jean-clad thighs. “Spent the night in the slammer. Moore vouched for me after he got out of surgery, that I tried to help him.”

“So they let you go, right?”

He shakes his head in response before meeting your curious, wide eyes.

“Nope, not unless I made bail. Hop told me they were still investigating the arson of the house.”

“How long were you stuck in there?” You prod further. The image of Eddie traumatized from his house burning down with his mom’s records in it, watching someone get shot in front of him, trying to save him, and watching his Dad leave him again, while stuck in a jail cell is pulling at your heart strings. The regret of not being there, not talking to him is only intensifying in the process. Maybe if you were still in Hawkins, let alone still talking, you could’ve helped, stopped this from happening in some way. The reality of if you actually could’ve is murky, you know, but you can’t stop the thoughts from coming in nonetheless.

“Only till the next morning. Paige. Hop gave me one phone call. Didn’t go well to say the least.” He shakes his head, crossing his arms again before stretching his body out slightly, knee resting against yours. “She was uh, pissed that I let her down. Ruined our chances. You wanna know what she said to me when I told her I was in jail?” He asks, bitterness rising in his tone as his eyes squint. Your head moves forward slightly in response.

“‘What did you do?’” He scoffs. “Not ‘What happened?’ Not “Are you okay?’ That whole time she fed me this story. ‘Barback turned rock hero’. But in that moment I knew she saw me the way everyone else in this town does. A fuck up. Guilty. Stuck under Al Munson’s shadow. Didn’t take me too long after to realize that that relationship wasn’t built on anything more than what we could do for each other. Making me a rockstar, making her look good for her boss and get a promotion. She did wire the money to bail me out though, so there’s that. Then I never heard from her again.” He finishes with a shrug, silently reading your expression that’s twisted in confusion and annoyance. You shake your head as you take it all in.

“You deserve so much better. All of it. But with that specifically, you deserved a better first relationship than that. One that’s based on genuine connection, not just what you can get out of it.” You pause, hoping you aren’t revealing yourself too much. “I’m glad she helped bail you out though.”

After a moment of pause, your curiosity gets the best of you.

“So, was she the only girlfriend you’ve had since I’ve been gone?” You ask with a cheeky smile, hoping to play it off as a teasing question from a friend, a question to lighten the mood just a fraction.

“Well, we technically never labeled it but yeah, the only person that ever got close enough to that. She uh- however was not my first.”

Your eyes widen in shock at the same time your heart falls to your stomach.

“Oh really?” you try your best to tease as a slight blush appears on his cheeks.

“There was 2 girls before. Wasn’t anything serious though. Just one night stands with girls that saw me as a conquest, daring themselves to sleep with the freak so they could run back and tell their friends about it.”

You’re tempted to ask who, no doubt you probably knew the girls. Something in you told you it was better that you didn’t know, so you bite back the question lingering on your tongue, only nodding your head in understanding.

“Yeah, I know what that’s like.”

His eyebrows shoot up, looking at you curiously, demanding elaboration.

“Oh?”

You fidget uncomfortably under his gaze, but you feel it’s only fair to tell him your story after all he’d just laid out for you.

“There was only one guy, Justin. Earlier this year back in Virginia. I thought it was something different, something real, serious.” You sigh, gaze moving to stare off into the trailer as the score of Halloween in the background fills the silence. “When he avoided me at school and in public, I knew on the inside, but I still held onto hope. No one had ever given me attention like that before, showed any interest in me. Well one Friday night he got what he wanted, I let him be my first. When he stood me up the next day, I knew. When I walked into school that Monday to all the whispers, eyes on me, Justin laughing with his friends when I walked by… I knew. I was just a conquest too, the fat girl.”

“Fuck that guy.” he sneers, drawing your attention back to him. “You know you’re so much more than that, right? That you deserve so much more.”

His look, his eyes, his voice, it’s all so intense and sincere as he stares at you. You gulp under his gaze and force a small smile.

“I know. I just feel like that’s all guys will ever see when they look at me.” You murmur softly.

“Those are just guys that aren’t worth your time, princess. Guys that aren’t even worthy of your presence.” He insists, putting emphasis into the final words.

You offer him a real smile this time at his words, the way they fill your heart and cheeks with warmth.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

The bright smile he gives in return nearly takes your breath away, like it always does. That ‘Munson magic’ Eddie always insisted he didn’t seem to have, didn’t inherit from his father. The things his smile does to you, his eyes, just a look… you’d be damned that he doesn’t have that magic.

You just wish he felt the same way about you. You try not to let yourself read too much into his words, delude yourself into hoping he sees you as more than just his best friend. He’s only being a good friend, saying all the things a friend is supposed to.

“So uh, what about you and Steve?” he questions quietly, confidence faltering in his voice.

You give him a confused look, eyebrow cocked.

“What about me and Steve?”

“Well I uh just thought-”

“Steve and I are just friends, Ed.” you laugh out in surprise, Eddie trying his best to act nonchalant as he mouths an ‘Oh’.

“I mean I will say he’s grown a lot over the years but that doesn’t mean he’s all of a sudden into fat girls now.” When Eddie gives you a curious look with his eyebrows pinched together, you quickly add on, “And no, I’m not saying that in a self-depreciating way.”

“Sooo, you do like him?” He asks slowly, accusingly.

“No. Even if he did like me like that, Steve’s not really my type.” you state simply, easing the worry that’s been swimming through Eddie’s head since he first saw you two together. He plays it off well, only nodding his head in response.

The intensified score as Laurie is chased by Michael Myers in the climax of the film draws both of your attention. You let the conversation sit in the air, like heavy smoke slowly drifting through the trailer as you watch the end of the film. Even the electrified but gentle brushing of skin as both your hands fish around the popcorn bowl between you doesn’t bring your eyes back to each other and off the television screen, not yet.

When the credits start rolling Eddie gets up, taking out the tape and turning the TV channel to Miami Vice. He settles back onto the loveseat with you before lighting another joint. After you take a hit and pass it back to him, you decide to pick up the previous conversation again. Nervously sharing a thought that’s lingered in your head since Ronnie first told you about the LA girl Eddie met and the band’s demo.

“You know, I hope you don’t take this the wrong way but, I’m kind of glad the whole moving to L.A. thing didn’t work out.”

His eyebrows shoot up, head tilting as he looks at you curiously and surprised.

“Why is that?”

“It’s not that I don’t want you to chase or live your dreams, to be happy.” You insist as you begin, “It’s just that when I imagine it, I think about you falling into that scene and lifestyle. Turning into someone else. You know, one of those rock stars that only cares about alcohol, drugs, which groupie you’re gonna sleep with that night… it just doesn’t sit right.”

It turns your stomach is what it really does, making you feel nauseated as you imagine him surrounded by girls who would never give him a passing glance if he wasn’t on a stage.

He smirks as he takes another hit, taking in your words, your worry.

“Yeah, as rough as it all was in the moment… I’m glad it didn’t happen either.” He sighs, smirk faltering. “I hadn’t even gotten out to LA yet and it was already changing me. Ronnie saw it, called me out on it but I didn’t want to see it. I let Higgins pressure me into dropping out, take the blame for all the torment the jocks were putting onto us, the club. So I left it all behind; school, the club, the band, my friends, me…” He shakes his head at himself as he passes the joint to you, a small frown creasing his cheeks. “I promised myself I’d never do that again, abandon myself and everyone I care about.”

“I can understand why you wanted to, you know, to chase after it. Given everything you’ve been through, I do. But it’s not worth it, to lose yourself and everyone else.”

He nods his head softly in agreement before taking a deep breath, dramatically stretching out his entire body with it on the already crowded small couch, knees pushing into you. You roll your eyes and playfully slap his knee, instantly lightening the mood as a giggle escapes his mouth.

“What about you, huh? You don’t wanna be a famous rockstar, singer/songwriter?” he questions teasingly.

“No, thank you. Surrounded by a bunch of big egos, controlled by a label, having no privacy, having a bunch of attention on me? Not for me. I don’t know though, maybe I could find a solid middle ground. Like sell my songs off to labels, maybe run my own independent recording studio and learn how to produce? Still get to play and make my own music. Kind of like still a part of the industry, but not fully immersed in it, you know?”

Eddie nods, a small smile gracing his lips.

“Yeah, that does sound like a pretty good middle.”

“Mmm, just gotta get through graduation first.” you hum, drawing a sharp laugh from Eddie.

“Well needless to say, all of that shit that happened,” he gestures with his hands. “is why I didn’t graduate my first senior year, it’s not like my grades were good enough to graduate anyway but,” he shrugs nonchalantly, eyebrows and head moving with it. “The grades didn’t exactly improve much the second year either…”

“How the hell did you even get Higgins to let you re-enroll, anyway? As much of a hardass as he’s always been for you.”

Eddie’s back straightens instantly, excitement overtaking him as he leans towards you with a big smile.

“Get a load of this shit. So during one of the many times he was chewing me out in his office, I saw this pill bottle in one of his desk drawers. I didn’t know what the hell it was… until I went to Reefer Rick’s house. When I moved in with Wayne after the fire I decided to start selling for him, help Wayne out with the bills, you know, when I see the same exact pills Higgins had in his desk at Rick’s house. Turns out Mr. Higgins has a little bennie problem.”

“Holy shit!” You breathe out, eyes widening in shock. Eddie’s energy is contagious, filling you up with the same excited energy as you hang onto his every word.

“He wanted to blackmail me to get me to drop out, so I figured I might as well blackmail him to let me back in. Not only did I get him to let me re-enroll, but he has since been a proud sponsor of Hellfire club.” Eddie leans back as he finishes, a self-satisfied smile stretching across his face.

“Oh my god!” You laugh out incredulously. You raise a hand and Eddie instantly goes in, slapping it in a little celebration. “Nicely done, Munson.”

“Thank you, thank you” He says bashfully as he bends into as much of a bow as he can while sitting on the couch, making you giggle.

“He’s not gonna let you stay a Senior forever though, you know.” You tease as you put out the dead joint in the ashtray.

“Yeah yeah, I know. But this is it. This is gonna be the year, ‘86 graduate. I know it. I just gotta get through the hell that is Ms. O’Donnell’s class.” He groans as he throws his head back against the couch, rubbing his hands over his face.

“Well, you know, I’m not exactly a 4.0 scholar myself but we do have that class together. I can help you study, help us both get to that finish line.” You offer him a sweet smile as he pulls his head back up, opening his fingers over his face to peek at you through them before removing them completely when he sees you’re serious. In a second he’s off the couch and onto the floor on one knee in front of you, bowing his head with a hand over his heart.

“Lady Y/L/N, if you would honor me with the bestowing of your great wisdom and knowledge, I would be forever in your debt.”

You throw your head back with a cackle at his dramatics and deep, theatrical voice.

“You may rise, good Sir. It would be my honor to assist you in your mighty quest for the elusive high school diploma.”

He looks up to you with a smile, bowing his head with his hands pressed together in front of him.

“You’re a mess.” You remark with a giggle as he bounces back onto the sofa next to you.

“And you’re the best.” he bumps his shoulder with yours, breath fanning along the sensitive skin of your ears, sending goosebumps throughout your body.“I know.” You shrug, popping a piece of popcorn into your mouth before turning your attention back to Miami Vice as the sound of his laugh fills your ears.

#eddie munson fic #eddie munson x plus size reader #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x plussize!reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x you #bestfriend!eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #one step away from you

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porcelainseashore · 9 months

Text

Teenage Headache Dreams (4)

Series Masterlist

Pairing: High School! College! Leon Kennedy x Dancer! Fem! Reader

Summary: You’re a bored, but ambitious high school student who can’t wait to escape small town life and make it in the big city. You thought you had it all figured out, until you unwittingly befriend the resident golden boy, Leon. A series of events beginning from junior year to college until Resident Evil 2 Remake.

Warnings: 18+ Swearing, Recreational Drug Use, Eventual Smut, No (Y/N), Ambiguous/Open Ending

Content: High School AU, College AU, Pre-Resident Evil 2, Fluff, Romance, Cliche, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Lack of Communication

Author's Note: Things get heated in both senses of the word… I toned it down here, but the final chapter will go further 😉 I have to say this chapter was a bit of an unruly beast, but I hope it worked out in the end. Expect some angst and as usual, fluff.

AO3 Link

Chapter 4: Different Dreams

Since that wintry night in February which left you reeling from having kissed your best friend, you never found the opportunity to speak with him on where you both stood. Things just kept getting in the way: preparing for junior year finals, college admission tests, then summer placements and so on. To be fair, you weren’t exactly keen on confronting the question either, since you still weren’t sure whether you and Leon would be in the same place after graduating from high school. You had long since crossed the river of denial and you liked him a lot, but you were selfish. If you had to choose between a relationship with him and Tisch School of the Arts, the one college you had always dreamed of going to since you were young, you knew you’d pick the latter in a heartbeat. And that fucked you up. You couldn’t help but feel guilty each time he tried to broach the subject of “that night”, and when you brushed him off, he didn’t get upset or push it. He just waited patiently as ever, with a hopeful look in his eyes, that someday you’d be ready to talk.

Maybe it was just better to remain as friends. That said, you were there for him as one. You supported him, teasing through the countless college possibilities he had swimming around in his mind, after he returned from the school’s career counselor. When the local police force had come round to give one of their recruitment talks, he seemed to have taken an interest in their work. In particular, their speech about directly interacting with and helping civilians in times of need really resonated with him. Although you were wary about cops in general, questioning the punishment system and incidences of police brutality, you encouraged him to follow what felt right to him.

As you sat together with him on his bed, littered with a bunch of police academy brochures that were sprawled across the covers, he went through the reasons that led him to make this choice, and you began to connect the dots. “Remember when you said that I’m a good person?”

“Yeah?” You perked up.

“Well, I just wondered how I could be more of that,” he explained.

Did he feel like he needed to prove himself, just so he could believe in it? You were dying to tell him that he didn’t have to do all of this. That he was perfect the way he was. But sometimes people just needed to go through the motions themselves. This was his journey to make, so you bit back your tongue and listened.

“I want to help regular people, like you and me. Protecting the innocent, changing their lives for the better…” He stared into space for a while before continuing. “And what about all the unsolved cases? Those families deserve closure.”

You realized that closure from the past was something he never had.

“I mean, I just want to make a difference somehow,” he reiterated.

“Hm, that sounds stupid, doesn’t it?” He remarked sheepishly, constantly glancing at you for your opinion.

“No… no, not at all.” You shook your head, reassuring him sincerely. “Well, you know I don’t have the best impression of cops,” you laughed. “But that will change, with you.”

“You think so?” A slight smile formed at the corners of his mouth.

You leaned back against the mattress on your forearms and confirmed. “Hell, Leon. If there’s such a thing as a model police officer, I think you’re gonna be that.”

“There isn’t a single bad bone in your body.” You winked. “Not vouching for the lame ones though.”

“Gee, thanks.” He was blushing now as he twiddled his thumbs.

“I take it that you’re gonna enjoy helping old ladies cross the road?” You couldn’t resist teasing him when he looked like that.

“Sure, you know you can call on me anytime.” He smirked.

You forgot he had a knack for winding you up. “Fuck you, Leon!”

“Oh yeah?” He challenged, although you could tell from his expression that he was only half-kidding.

That stopped you in your tracks, as a mental image of you and Leon in various intimate positions formed in your mind. You swallowed hard, feeling a burning sensation of arousal surging within. Despite that, you shrugged off those thoughts and picked up one of the brochures lying in the pile to distract yourself. “So, you’re gonna visit the open house?”

You heard what sounded like a disheartened sigh before he replied, “Yeah I’d like to.” He turned to face you expectantly. “It’d be nice, if uh, you came along?”

“They’re all pretty nearby,” he added, trying to sweeten the deal. As if you needed convincing.

You rolled your eyes, exclaiming, “Even if it was a gazillion miles away, I’d still be there.”

Echoing his previous sentiment at the time he had supported you at your performance, you mentioned naively, “That’s what friends are for, right?”

When you caught him wincing and tightening up at the word “friends”, you realized the blunder you had made, but it was too late.

He stood up silently and made his way over to his desk, busying himself with a stack of papers.

That hand-wringing sensation of guilt started to swell in your chest again. You opened your mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Finally, you got up to leave. “Just let me know when, ok?”

He nodded his head in acknowledgement, without turning around to see you off. You walked out of his room with your eyes downcast, trying to console yourself that it was for the best. The police academies he had singled out weren’t even remotely near New York. There was no way it would work out. No way.

��━━━━━━━━━━

You accompanied Leon to the open houses that summer, as he got a good look around the various campuses, asking inquisitive questions and highlighting his athletic achievements, albeit rather humbly. After some nudging from you, he began to mention his academics too. You always held his intelligence in high regard, which you had noticed in class and during your study sessions, that were miraculously still going on despite his earlier reluctance. In your opinion, he would make a great detective, though he had tried to downplay it when you shared it with him.

In any case, you should’ve known that it never ends well when unresolved things are left to fester. So here you were, in your room this time, having the biggest argument you’ve ever encountered with Leon so far.

It all started when you were grabbing something quick from your shelf, before heading out with Leon for a walk along the surrounding forest trails, just so you could make the best use of the remaining summer days. He’d waited around the entrance to your room when something piqued his interest. Walking in, he pointed at a makeshift board lying by your bedside. “Jeez, what’s this? An evidence board or something?”

Whipping your head around, you laughed, “It’s to keep track of all the colleges I’m applying to, dumbass.”

Resting his fingers under his chin, he tilted his head and noted without hiding his disappointment, “They’re kinda far away.”

“And this one.” He pointed to the red circle in the middle. “That’s your dream school, huh?” At least he remembered. Not like you hadn’t been going on about it for ages.

“Yeah, since I was little.” You nodded, taking a couple of steps closer, till you joined Leon at his side. A moment of doubt set in, as you shrugged and chewed your lip nervously. “I don’t know if I’m good enough.”

“You’re more than good enough,” he stated simply, in a tone deeper than usual. It reverberated across the room as he eyed you intently.

“I’ve watched you-” He pulled you in close, wrapping an arm around your waist, which elicited a small gasp from your lips. “Perform.” His other hand trailed up to caress your cheek.

“Choreograph,” he continued, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. “Teach.” He smiled fondly at the memory of picking you up from class one day, as the little ballerinas you taught gathered around your legs quizzing, Miss, is that your boyfriend?

Meanwhile, it felt like your brain was malfunctioning, as you stood frozen on the spot, losing yourself in the pool of his ocean blue eyes, while he issued you compliment after compliment, finally finishing with, “You’re incredibly talented.”

Stroking his thumb gently over your bottom lip, his gaze followed suit, transfixed by its outline. Checking for any signs of discomfort on your face but finding none, he leaned in, planting his mouth on yours, as an involuntary moan escaped from your throat. No matter how much you tried to fight it, your body would not lie. It craved his touch, and all at once, you threw out the barriers you had placed between yourself and Leon in the past few months.

Sliding your hands up his chest, you parted your lips slightly to allow his tongue to slip inside. The kisses grew hungrier and more urgent as you tasted each other, causing you to stumble backwards onto your bed with him laying on top of you. You were so glad your parents were out, as the door to your bedroom was wide open and both of you weren’t exactly keeping very quiet about things. He peppered kisses along your neck, as his hands roamed across your body. Then his lips traveled downwards to your chest and you tangled your hands tightly in his hair, cursing his name in pleasure under your breath.

There were countless thoughts running through your head, like how fast you and Leon were going, and how badly you wanted him, but something was screaming inside of you about how wrong all of this was. You were just friends, right? You shouldn’t be leading him on like this.

With whatever resolve you had left, you tore yourself away and pushed him off you, stammering, “I’m sorry, I can’t!” You were shaking uncontrollably as Leon regarded you with a mixture of worry and confusion, panting heavily through his swollen, red lips.

“Wha-? Are you ok? Did I hurt you?” The questions came out like rapid fire.

“I-I’m fine.” You looked down in embarrassment as you adjusted your clothes.

“Then, what’s wrong?” His brows were knitted in distress, wondering if he had unknowingly crossed your boundaries.

“I just don’t think this is such a good idea,” you offered hesitantly.

Running his hand through the mess you had made of his silky blonde hair, he sighed, “Why? What about that night?” There it was again.

You bit your lip apprehensively. “We never followed up on that.”

As his face contorted in anguish, you knew that your time of delaying the inevitable had run out, and he wasn’t going to let it go now. “It was like you never wanted me to bring it up.” He began to raise his voice, throwing his hands up in exasperation. “I gave you months… Months!”

“It’s… complicated,” you whispered.

“How?” He asked, bristling with irritation.

“Well, for starters, we’re gonna be living miles apart by the time we finish high school.”

“You don’t know that,” he countered, crossing his arms firmly, as if shielding himself from being let down again.

“What do you mean?” You blurted out in bewilderment.

By now, he had gotten up and paced around your room restlessly. “You could… I don’t know, go to one of the bigger cities around here. I heard Chicago’s got a pretty good-”

You felt a flash of annoyance as you cut him off instantly. “You know I’ve wanted to go to Tisch my whole life!”

“I don’t understand you!” He choked, shaking his head furiously. “You’d travel miles with me to the academies, but you can’t even think of doing this long distance?”

He was grasping at straws to keep you, but you didn’t want to hurt him. You didn’t know if you were right for each other. In your mind, Leon was a bit of a homebody, judging by the college choices he had made. He needed someone who could provide him with stability and the white picket fence American dream. You couldn’t do that. You wanted to travel the world and live out new experiences.

As you hugged yourself wordlessly, unable to look at him, he softened, once again trying to reason things out. “I just thought… we mattered too.”

Your heart broke as he said that. You wanted nothing more than warmth and intimacy with him on this lazy Sunday, cuddling and trading affectionate kisses. But you couldn’t. “You do matter to me, Leon.”

“Then why do you keep pushing me away?” There was no more anger in his voice, only sadness.

He deserved an answer, and you would give him one. You just didn’t expect to be so inept at choosing how to express yourself. “We both have our own dreams,” you tried to explain. “They’ve just turned out to be very different.”

The next line came out a lot harsher than you intended. “I can’t have someone holding me back. I’m sorry.”

Before regret could even sink in, Leon had started to take his leave, his expression turning colder than ice. “No, I’m sorry for even trying,” he commented bitterly. “I’ll stop wasting your time.”

“Leon!” You called out after him, but he paid no attention and continued to walk off. “It came out wrong,” you pleaded. “That’s not what I meant!”

The last thing you heard was your front door slamming shut.

━━━━━━━━━━━

Over the next weeks when senior year started, you tried to reach out to Leon to no avail. He had become a distant shell of his former self. There was an air of aloofness each time you bumped into each other, as he pretended not to recognize you. All the notes you attempted to pass to him in class ended up crumpled and thrown into the bin without being read. You felt a stab to your gut every single time.

However, you were observant enough to make out the sting of hurt in his eyes when he thought you weren’t looking. You knew he was keeping you at an arm’s length to protect himself, but also partly to give you a taste of your own medicine, just like when you had foolishly dragged things on, hoping they would resolve themself without giving him an answer. Until it was too late. You hated him for being so immature and childish, but you held yourself responsible for starting it first.

Then, the rumors came. You saw him with that girl, Val?, again. They were doing the things you used to do together before the fallout. It made you sick to your stomach, but you said nothing. Maybe you deserved all of this, you thought.

“Lattes after class?” Kayla’s chirpy voice snapped you out of your reverie.

“Hm?” You weren’t really in the mood, but you tried your best to smile through it.

“They brought in the pumpkin spice ones early this season! Can you believe it?” She giggled excitedly, throwing her arm around your shoulder as she proceeded to whisper into your ear, “Come on, you and I need some girl-to-girl talk.”

As you made your way towards the cafe, you caught sight of Leon with his arm around Val on the other side of the street. Kayla wrinkled her nose at them, as she quickened her pace, pulling you along. “Smooth, real smooth, Kennedy,” she muttered under breath.

Whilst it was comforting to know you had someone who supported you through this - something which you didn’t expect, not least from Kayla - you were flung into the center of drama and gossip again.

Clink. Kayla placed both cups of coffee on the table as she sat down, adjusting her mini skirt before turning to face you attentively. “Spill it.”

You shrugged, glancing around awkwardly.

She tried prompting you at first, “Did he break up with you?” No answer.

“He did something stupid.” No answer.

“Oh my god, he cheated on you, didn’t he?” She accused melodramatically, such that a couple of customers in the cafe glowered over in displeasure at the noise.

You slapped a palm against your forehead and cringed. “Kayla, please.”

“Oops, sorry.”

You sighed, deciding that perhaps it would do some good to open up a little, instead of keeping things to yourself all the time. “It was me. I fucked up, ok?”

“Bullshit,” she scoffed. “It always takes two to tango.” She checked out her manicured nails for a second before continuing, “And even if he was the sweet angel as you claim he is, he sure is fucking it up spectacularly now.”

You raised an eyebrow. Strong choice of words. “Look, we were never really together. I mean, we did some things-” You paused, swallowing anxiously. “-friends don’t usually do.”

She gave you a knowing smirk, gesturing at you to continue.

“I told him…” At this, your voice cracked, “I didn’t want him, Kayla.” Your mouth quivered, as stray tears welled up in the corners of your eyes.

“Oh, babe,” she cooed. “But you do, don’t you?” She placed her hand over yours understandingly.

You weren’t used to crying, especially not out in the open like this. You pulled away from Kayla, wiping the tears away roughly with the back of your hand, as you straightened up and put on the same facade you always do. “It doesn’t matter anyway. He’s with Val-”

Immediately, Kayla scowled. “That girl has some nerve! I knew it,” she spat. “Always waiting in the sidelines to bag your man.”

“It’s not her fault!” You protested. As far as you were concerned, you and Leon hadn’t made any promises to each other. He was free to go out with whoever he wanted.

Kayla rolled her eyes, “I’m sure she couldn’t wait one hot minute.”

“If that’s the case, then Leon should’ve waited too, right?” You argued. If you had to go along with this warped way of reasoning with her, then so be it.

“Fair enough,” she conceded, though you could tell that she wasn’t exactly happy about the outcome, and you wanted to put a stop to whatever mean girl prank she had up her sleeve.

“I’m serious. Don’t,” you warned.

She threw up her hands in mock surrender. “Ok, Miss Party Pooper… I won’t do anything to her. I swear!”

━━━━━━━━━━━

It took you a while to realize what Kayla’s actual plan of action was. In her typical fashion, it was loud, flashy and drew the attention of the whole school. It happened during lunch break in one of the weeks following your girl talk. You had seated yourself with the rest of the cheer team at the cafeteria, when you saw her slam her cutlery down on the table, snarling, “That’s it. I’ve had enough of this shit!”

The rest of the girls including you stared at her in shock, as she stormed up to where the other sports teams usually sat. She made a beeline for the blonde boy whom you’d been moping about for most of the term now, situating herself between him and his latest flame. You couldn’t hear what she was saying, but it made Val scurry off, before she and Leon entered into some sort of shouting match. You only managed to make out bits and pieces of it.

“What the fuck’s your problem?”

“Let me guess, the classy rebound-” Slow clap.

“Stay out of it-”

“You’re the one causing trouble!”

The next minute, she pointed at you, motioning to come over. Leon’s eyes grew dark, giving you a withering glare as you walked towards them with a mix of reluctance and unease. You despised being singled out like this, but you needed to put an end to running away from your problems.

Once you had made your way over, Kayla, who was seemingly pretty satisfied herself, barked out an order, “You two, just sort it out! It’s driving me insane.”

When she left the table and the curious onlookers - which meant literally everyone in the cafeteria - had decided to resume back to whatever they were doing, you uttered the first words to Leon in a long time, “Well, that was awkward.”

“You don’t say.”

“Listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t know she would get like that,” you admitted.

He still held his guard up as he regarded you stoically. “So what did you want to talk about?”

You sighed, hoping you would do better this time. But there was just so much to say. Where to start? “I just wanted apologize for what I said that day,” you treaded cautiously. “I miss you, Leon.” You were getting glassy-eyed again, but you braved on. “And I still really care about you.”

His lips were pinched together as he considered your words. He had his reservations, but his hard gaze was slowly faltering. For a while, he didn’t respond. Just as you thought you had overstayed your welcome, he piped up almost inaudibly, “I care, too.”

You nodded in response and took your leave. You knew things would never be the same again, but this was enough for now.

━━━━━━━━━━━

The atmosphere between you and Leon remained tense, but at least it was amicable now. Apparently, Val was out of the picture. Nothing happened, they went on a date or two and Leon called it off. Well, that was what was going through the rumor mill anyway.

Still, it killed you inside, as it felt like you had lost a lover and a best friend. When you received your acceptance letter in December from Tisch, you didn’t even know whether to celebrate or not. Moreover, the one person you would have celebrated with was hardly in your life anymore. Kayla pushed you to tell Leon regardless, and you started to think maybe you had the wrong impression of some of your schoolmates after all. They did seem to look out for you, in their own weird way. It was like reading Pride and Prejudice all over again.

That’s what brought you in front of Leon’s front door, as you rang the doorbell in anticipation. You flinched as the door opened. The corridor was bathed in a warm, golden glow as the light filtered through the doorway, partly blocked by Leon, who peered out at you curiously. “Hi.”

“Hi,” you called out timidly. God, it was like you were strangers again. “Um, can I come in?”

“S-sure.” He held the door open for you, as you took in your surroundings. It had been months since you’d last visited, but nothing much had changed.

“So… what can I do for you?” He stuffed his hands in his pockets, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. You weren’t used to this formal way of addressing each other. It gave you goosebumps.

“I thought it was only right to let you know,” you started. Your hands were trembling as you held out a thick white envelope towards Leon. “I-I got in.”

He took the envelope in his hands, frowning as he opened it. As he glanced over the papers, a spark of recognition shone in his eyes. “Oh! Uh-” He looked like he was at a loss for words as a wave of conflicting emotions washed over him. “Congratulations! I guess.”

“Thanks.” You nipped at your lip lightly, wondering if your next question would be appropriate. “Can I have a hug?”

For a fleeting instant, he looked like a deer in the headlights, but then he got a hold of himself. “Y-yeah.”

It took both of you a good minute to navigate your way into an embrace, so much so you nearly laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. But once you were in each other’s arms, you relaxed, breathing in his familiar scent that you grew to love. “I missed this,” he sighed blissfully into your hair. You deepened the embrace, pulling him closer to you.

“I guess I should also tell you…” He pressed his lips to the side of your forehead as he spoke, “I’m heading to the police academy in Springfield.”

Your heart leapt out of joy and ached with melancholy at the same time. “That’s fantastic! I’m so proud of you, Leon.”

“Mm, you always know how to make me feel…” his words faded off as he broke away from your arms, but held your gaze, as if asking, “What now?”

Maybe this was your chance for the heart-to-heart that was long overdue. And you grabbed it with both hands.

“I was scared,” you started. “I didn’t know how it could work out with the distance, maybe even performing internationally…” After a brief pause, you revealed, “I thought you wanted the suburban dream.”

“When did I ever say that?” He blurted out, with a look of shock plastered across his face.

You flinched, realizing that he had a point. He never mentioned wanting that. These doubts you had appeared to stem from your own fears projected onto him. “I-I thought…” You trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

“You could’ve asked me,” he replied, seemingly perturbed from the misunderstanding that occurred between the two of you. “I really wished we talked about this.”

Your eyes dropped to the ground, as you felt a heavy weight in your chest. “I’m sorry, I just assumed it was the case.” At this, he grasped his forehead in his hands and sighed wearily.

This was all so stupid. But you needed to tell him exactly how you felt about him, especially after this wake-up call. “Leon, hear me out, please? When I lost you, I realized I was so caught up with running as far away as I could from this place, that I didn’t see how important being with you was to me.”

You forced down a lump in your throat as you continued, “You never held me back, I was wrong to say that.”

“I want you,” you confessed. “Always have.”

You felt completely exposed, as if every part of you was laid bare and open to scrutiny. “I just had to let you know, even if you don’t feel the same way about me anymore.”

As you folded your arms to brace yourself for what would come next, Leon reached out and caressed your hair comfortingly. “I-” he paused. “If this is about Val, I’m sorry I did that,” he apologized. “I was hurt, and it wasn’t fair to either of you.”

Placing his fingers under your chin, he lifted it to bring you within eye contact. “However, I need you to stop guessing what you think I might want,” he stated firmly. “I can make my own decisions, ok?”

As you nodded in agreement, his gaze softened, and he took you within his arms again, cradling your head against his chest. “And… you haven’t lost me, but I need some time.” He sighed. “This was all just-”

At that moment, you were interrupted by his mom, who’d made her way in from the living room. “Gosh, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

You and Leon let go of each other self-consciously, as she spontaneously invited you to dinner with the family that evening, which had just been freshly cooked and served out on the dining table. As you shared in the laughter and light-hearted conversations together, you couldn’t help but feel a sliver of hope about your future with the boy sitting beside you.

━━━━━━━━━━━

Prom night was coming up. At least that was what Kayla kept reminding you. You still had a few months to prepare, but for her it was the most important social event of high school. No one had asked you out yet, and Kayla felt that wouldn’t do. Secretly, you wished Leon would have made a move by now, but maybe things were still too raw.

As you emptied out your locker, you felt a tap on your shoulder. Spinning around, you brushed up against one of the footballers you had hardly spoken with during your school years. He must have noticed the bemusement on your face, as he spoke first, “Wanna go to the prom with me?”

From afar, you heard a distant giggle and narrowed your eyes at the source. Kayla’s sly grin gave it away. She set the whole thing up. Why?

You glanced between her and the beefy guy in front of you. Clearly not your type. At all. “Uh…” you tried to stall, wondering how you were going to maneuver your way out of this situation.

Suddenly, a figure emerged from the side, snaking an arm around your waist, causing you to yelp in surprise. “She’s coming with me.” You’d recognize that voice anywhere.

Hm, this was getting interesting. Talk about Mr Knight in Shining Armor to the rescue.

Leon turned to face you. “Am I right?”

“Y-yeah, I’d like-,” you paused to recollect yourself. “I’m going with you,” you confirmed with a hint of shyness.

The footballer backed off, raising his hands in the air as he excused himself clumsily. “Sorry man, my bad. I didn’t know she was taken.” Leon was giving him the stink eye all the way through.

“You trying to make me jealous, baby?”

Baby? You gulped. What the hell has gotten into him? You couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. But his arm was still resting on your waist with no intention of letting go anytime soon.

You saw Kayla shrug and dust her hands, before sashaying away. You had to hand it to her though. Fucking mastermind genius.

“Well, you never asked.”

“I did now,” he retorted smugly.

Ok, so you were back to bantering. Guess you could deal. But it still didn’t answer the question on where you stood with him. Had he finalized his thoughts since that talk you had?

“Leon,” you sighed. “Is this your way of saying you’d like to make things official?”

“Sorry about that. I was kinda put on the spot,” he admitted bashfully, as if he had been caught doing something wrong and now had a tail between his legs.

“But yeah, I want to,” he professed. “Do you?” He stared at you, swallowing nervously. “I mean, would you like to be my, uh- girlfriend?”

You gave him a coy smile, copying one of his previous lines in response. “Sure, I suck at it. So why not?”

“Never know till you try.” He beamed in return, unable to conceal the sheer look of happiness on his face any longer. “Guess we can figure out the rest along the way.”

“Uh huh.” You glanced around, all of a sudden painfully aware that you both were having this conversation in full public view. Although the other students were pretending not to pay attention, you knew they had seen and overheard everything.

A hot flush rose to your face. It didn’t seem to deter Leon as he tugged you closer with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. You had an inkling of what was about to unfold, but you chose to embrace it.

“Let’s give them a show, shall we?” He smirked, and with that, his lips collided into yours, as you made out against the lockers, oblivious to the world around you.

#leon kennedy x reader #leon kennedy x you #leon kennedy #leon kennedy fluff #leon kennedy smut #high school au #college au #re2 leon #re2 remake #resident evil 2 #resident evil #fic: teenage headache dreams #porcelainscribbles

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ladyiristheenchantress · 2 months

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Magic for the college witch

In honor of finding out I am set to graduate in December with my associates in science I have decided to celebrate with you all by sharing my tips and tricks I used to help pass some of my classes! Each tip will be sorted into circumstances as to where they may be applicable. Please enjoy, and congrats to all my future grads!

Reminder: In dorms and such you wont have access to many tools, but if your living in an apartment things are less strict. every time you see candles and such if you live in a dorm replace it with either electric candles or even colored stones you can rub together or place in a grid!

Registering for classes

Often times we try to register for classes as soon as possible, especially when you are an incoming freshman. When it comes to getting accepted and starting the process congrats your here.

Set up registering appointments on lucky number days, during the new moon, or on Mondays and Thursdays because those times represent readiness and preparation

Manifest getting good classes and teachers by sending off a prayer out to the universe

Do divination when registering opens to see if a teacher is a good fit or not (Also check out rate my professor)

If you are having trouble establishing classes, or just cant seem to get that *one* class you need, light a blue candle and put mint at the base of it to promote an opening

If your facing a situation where you are trying to get into an exclusive class (this also works if your presenting a thesis) put a sugar packet under your tongue to sweeten your words and make you more convincing

Getting to class on time

The commute anywhere can be a really hard thing to do, whether your commuting from a dorm to a classroom or city to campus it can be hard to be on time or find the motivation to show up to class

To motivate yourself to go to class keep a carnelian under your pillow to help you rise in the morning

Keep a consistent schedule, not only is this helpful psychologically but magically consistency helps build up magical energy towards motivation

enchant your walking shoes (or get heelies) to put pep in your step and always be on time when walking. You can optionally put a sigil in your shoe

enchant cars to avoid red lights by charging your keys in full moon light

Light a green candle before important days to make sure your morning commute runs smoothly

Setting up magical space in the dorms

Most dorms don't allow things like candles or flames, heaters, strip lights, etc. With this in mind people assume it must be hard to create a magical space without some of the key items, but we do have solutions!

Instead of regular candles, use electric ones as votives on deity altars

Instead of incense use MILD essential oil diffusers like lava stones in the corners, or a defuser. Bonus points if you use a dehumidifier

Chances are you wont have a lot of space, so opt for small placements on desks via mini figures and small stones

Set up sachets around your space and put them in clothing areas, not only do they smell good and keep moths away, they act as magical protection

Start working on energy based practices like meditation or enchantments with only your body

Navigating relationships

College can be a hard time, your adjusting to life without the friends you grew up with, most people start their dating life, and friends begin to come and go as you go through classes. Don't restrict what you experience

When you brush your teeth, enchant it to represent you 'speaking your truth' and 'biting back' so your protected from people who have bad intentions or are deceptive

When at parties and such put a sigil of protection on your left thigh, this represents protection from people looking to harm you

blow cinnamon at your door, or use a light cinnamon essential oil wash to invite new people and opportunities

Keep amber under your pillow or by photos to maintain friendships and help you let go of ones that no longer serve you

wear silver to repel energy vampires or people who are looking to use you

Studying success

Studying and how effective it is will depend on you and how you like to study, there are hundreds of posts online that look at how to find your study style, this more focuses on magic you can do for memory retention

Chew mint gum during studying AND during your test for memory recall

Draw sigils on your physical flash cards to make the information easier to retain

On the third of each month save that day to brush up on all information from the class, not only does this prep you for the final but this day is Athenas ritual day

Study the most on Wednesdays as they represent wisdom

Use a shungite worry stone during studying and testing to help keep your mind focused and stress free before tests

Test taking

Test taking can be a really hard part of college, I know it was for me. We do a lot of things to help prepare but what can we do during a test?

Create a sigil of good luck on top of your exam

Wear green on exam days

Eat and drink something enchanted (I swear by a snickers and a red bull) before a test for good luck

Create a superstition like a lucky shirt or pair of socks after your first good exam grade

Wear gold accessories to enhance your test taking skills, and speed up your test (Great when you are being timed)

Mental Health

Your mental health in college is very important, it can be hard being separated from your home town or family and just know that it does get better. College is a mix of emotions, from the loneliest point in your life, to the most social. You will be navigating new challenges, new feats, and its important to take care of yourself. Seek out the college mental health resources available to you like counseling as needed. you matter!

Use words of affirmations when you wake up and before you sleep to remind yourself you matter, my favorite is from the help "You is smart, you is kind, you is important"

Carry rose quartz and carnelian on you for self love and energy

Before bed drink lavander tea for rest and revitalization

Pray over your food to nourish your spirit as you go through college

Write down letters and petition to the universe for stability and how you feel.

I hope you all have enjoyed! Again, congrats to all my future grads, and I hope you all can come with me as I journey to getting my bachelors

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