#college students around the world just collectively sighed

[lq-jikook]

do you know how many times i've driven an e-scooter home drunk out of my mind before....it's an art form and it's not that hard!! free my man!!

[dilemmaontwolegs]

The Nickname Runs in the Family || CL16

Summary: When you end up crying on your father’s shoulder over a boy, Kimi enlists the help of Charles to teach him a lesson. Charles Leclerc x Raikkonen!Reader Warnings: nsfw, fighting, mentions of sex, WC: 2.9k

To the outside world Kimi was known as ‘The Iceman’, garnered for his cold personality in the media and how he never let anything bother him, at home however he was just called isä or dad. You really could have done with more of The Iceman persona because when it came to his family your father was anything but cool and collected.

“Tell me what happened,” Kimi demanded, your tears only streaming faster down your cheeks.

“Nothing happened, dad.”

“Something happened, tytär, don’t lie to me.”

It was stupid to go there after what happened. You should have just returned to your student accommodation at the college but you needed the comfort of home and someone you trusted. Now all of Monaco was going to hear just how hotheaded The Iceman got while your step-mother tried to put your baby half-sister back to sleep.

“Nothing happened!” you sobbed, burying your face in your hands as embarrassment flamed across your cheeks. “I said no, okay. I said no and he called me a frigid bitch before dumping me and leaving me at the party.”

You expected to hear something break, or at least his heavy stomps storming towards the front door. You didn’t expect your dad to throw his head back and laugh, a deep belly laugh that echoed around the quiet living room. 

“Ah, that’s my girl,” he laughed as he bundled you into a hug. “I like that, Frigid Bitch. It’s good.”

You snorted a laugh despite the hurt and wiped your tears on his shoulder. “I thought you would be angry.”

“Oh, I am,” he admitted somberly. He placed a kiss on your head before standing up and pulling his phone out of his pocket. You didn’t see who he was calling so late at night but groaned when it was answered. “Hello, Charles. You know everyone in Monaco, where does Devereux Laurent live?”

“Isä! No!”

Your father ignored you as he grabbed his car keys and his jacket, his phone shoved between his shoulder and his ear. “I’m not going to kill the little bastard, fuck, Charles, I just want to have a chat.”

The door slammed shut behind him and you collapsed back onto the sofa with a groan about keeping your mouth shut next time. You were still ruminating over your life choices when the doorbell rang an hour later. 

“Charles?” You frowned at the man panting in your doorway like he sprinted across the city before your eyes widened at the split lip he sported. “What are you doing here? What happened?”

“Kimi.”

“Fuck.” 

“Yeah.”

You grabbed your purse that had been discarded on the kitchen table when you arrived. “Where is he?” 

“The police station.”

“Shit, he didn’t do that to you, did he?”

Charles reeled back, clearly offended. “No, you’re asshole boyfriend hit me.”

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” you clarified as you dragged him inside and grabbed a tea towel to wrap a bag of peas from the freezer. Charles flinched as you gently pressed the ice pack to his lips and you sighed. “I’m sorry my dad got you involved in this.”

“It’s okay,” he murmured, taking the pack from your hand to place it on his swollen knuckles that you hadn’t noticed. “I got myself involved when I heard what Dev did. Are you okay?”

“I didn’t get punched in the face,” you said as you playfully rolled your eyes, however you soon sobered. “It's nothing a few drinks and a bad romcom can’t fix, after I’ve bailed dad out first. It’s not like we were together long enough to get heartbroken. Do you want me to drop you off on the way?”

“I’ll drive.” He snatched a set of keys from the hook by the door, but you caught his wrist and took them back.

“That’s Minttu’s minivan.” You hung the keys back on the hook and grabbed a set for your dad’s Rolls Royce Wraith instead. The empty hook beside it was where the keys to his Ferrari Pista usually hung. “She wouldn’t be happy if you crashed her car again.”

“I didn’t crash her car,” he argued as he pocketed the keys and opened the door. “You were driving!”

“I had a shit instructor. You were too busy checking yourself out in the mirror to teach me.”

His finger jabbed the call button for the elevator as he scoffed. “You only know that because you were too busy checking me out to watch the road.”

The elevator arrived but you held a hand out to block him as you stepped into the small space. “Sorry, your inflated ego is too big to fit in here.” 

“That wasn’t a denial.”

You ignored him and jutted your head to the fireproof door. “Try the stairs.”

“But we’re on the top floor.”

You smirked as the doors started to close but he darted inside before they sealed shut.

“You’re still not denying it.”

“So you really went swinging for my honour?” you deflected as he hit the button for the garage level, exposing his swollen fist again.

“You sound surprised.” He leaned back against the wall and looked at his hand, massaging the tender bruises. “When I saw he was still at the party…”

You frowned, first at the fact that Dev went back after leaving you there, asshole, then at the fact Charles knew where he was. Charles was definitely not at the party, if he was then you would have heard the women going feral for him. “How did you know he was there? You don’t follow him on Instagram.”

“Not on my main account,” he said with a shrug. Anyone that Charles followed on social media made sure to announce the news like it was an instant ticket to ViP treatment, and Dev would have been no different. It was also the exact reason you went by Y/L/N, your mother’s surname, instead of Raikkonen. You didn’t want to be used by people for the name you carried. 

“You hate him, why would you follow him?”

“It doesn’t matter why.”

“It does to me.” 

Unfortunately the doors opened and he pushed off from the wall to stride past without an answer. A flash of lights responded to the click of the button on the keys and Charles slowed his steps for you as he led the way to the sedan parked in a secluded corner, the space beside it empty of your fathers red Pista. Charles stopped at your door and opened it for you, his eyes scanning the open space that was empty and quiet save for the whine of the elevator leaving the level. 

“For you,” he admitted as you slipped into the leather seat. “I followed him to keep an eye on you.”

The door closed and you watched him walk around the car, dropping into the driver’s seat before pushing it back to suit his longer legs. He then silently adjusted the mirrors and turned down the heavy rock music that blasted when the engine started. You didn’t know what to say, all you had were more questions that could only lead to more confusion.

“You deserve better,” Charles said, breaking the awkward silence as he pulled out into the street. 

“He was just drunk.” 

“That’s not an excuse. You deserve someone who will wait until you are ready to have sex, not try it on drunk and at a party.” His words were seething by the time he finished and his knuckles turned white from the tight grasp he had on the steering wheel.

“Uh, Charles, I was joking about my honour…I’m not a virgin.”

“Wait, what?” The car slammed to a halt and he earned a toot from the Lamborghini behind before it drove around when Charles didn’t move. “Since when?” he asked as he turned in his seat to face you.

“I didn’t realise it was such a big deal. Was I meant to stand at the corner and hold a sign that said ‘deflowered’ in Times New Roman or Comic Sans?”

He didn’t even blink at your icy tone and heavy sarcasm. “But Dev said he dumped you because you didn’t want to have sex. He didn’t force himself on you, did he?”

“Oh my god, no! I can’t believe we are having this conversation, Charles.” You figured it couldn't get any more awkward as you looked out the window into the sleeping city. “Sex wasn’t the problem, he was upset because I didn’t want to have sex with him.”

“Oh…oh.” He cleared his throat and put the car back into drive before continuing his way to the police station. “So, uh, is there anyone you do want to, um, have sex with at the moment?” 

“Why? Are you offering?” It was meant to sound teasing but there was too much curiosity in it.

His face flushed pink and his lips parted two twice before his voice worked. “I don’t do casual.”

It wasn’t a no, and that somehow made things both better and worse as a new possibility began to worm its way into your mind. You didn’t like the hope that fluttered in your stomach. Charles was a friend. Charles was someone your father trusted after Seb vouched for him. Charles was off limits. 

By the time you had filtered through the thoughts he had induced, Charles was pulling into the police station and you hoped your dad was fairing well behind bars. It turned out you had no reason to worry as you walked inside and heard his voice from behind the glass wall. 

Kimi was being well taken care of by the officers. He had a coffee in one hand, a pastry in the other and was answering questions that had nothing to do with Dev. You cringed as he recounted why he missed meeting Pelé years ago, but Charles chuckled along with the policemen as you knocked on the door.

The Monégasques fawned over their hometown hero while you watched Kimi pull himself to his feet, cracking his back that had stiffen while he was sat down. 

“I thought you would be in maximum security by now,” you said as he pulled you into a hug. “What did you do?”

He patted your cheek and smiled mischievously. “I like Charles even more now.”

He gave you nothing else but that was expected. Whatever happened was obviously not on the record and you wanted to keep it that way, especially since he didn’t have a single scratch on him - like he hadn’t been in a fight at all. You were quietly contemplating that knowledge when you climbed into the backseat of the Wraith and your father readjusted everything on the driver's side back to how he had it.

“You took the fall for Charles, didn’t you?”

They both swivelled back to look at you. Charles’ eyes widened, while your father’s narrowed. 

“Fucking hell, I’m not going to tell anyone,” you growled as you threw your arms up in exasperation. “I just want to know what actually happened tonight.”

Charles waited to see if your dad wasn’t going to explain as the car pulled out of the station car park. After a moment of hesitation he took a breath and started to rattle off the truth.

“I called Kimi when I realised Dev was still at the party. It was only a block away so I thought I would meet him there to point him out.”

“I was just about at the address he gave me when he called. I got there as fast as I could but Charles was already inside,” Kimi said with a proud chortle. “Got a few good hits on the little bastard too.”

“Iså,” you warned as he enjoyed the violence just a bit too much and Charles looked sheepishly down at his hands. “Why did you fight?”

“You know why. I couldn’t stand by and let him talk about you that way.”

“Good man,” Kimi said with a stern nod. 

“And you, what did you do, dad?”

“What I had to do,” he said with a shrug. “I’m retired, Charles has a career.”

You stretched the seatbelt and leaned forward to hug your dad and kiss his cheek before doing the same to Charles. “Thank you.” Your eyes lingered on Charles as his eyes said everything he couldn’t with your father in the car. 

“He’s not pressing charges but there may be some questions if anyone caught the fight on camera. You might want to give your PR team a heads up.”

It took a moment to realise where you were and why the car had stopped outside the venue where the party was still in full swing. Drunken revellers could be heard behind the velvet curtain hanging over the door and your father handed his keys over to Charles with a shake. “Make sure she gets home safe. I’ll pick it up in the morning, no scratches.”

“Yes, sir,” Charles promised with a nod before getting out.

“You’re trusting him with your Pista?”

“I trust him with you, the car I can replace.”

You surprised him with another hug as your door opened, your voice thick with emotion as you said, “thank you.”

“Do you want to come home?” he asked quietly. “I can make up the sofa bed.”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t think I’ll want to get out of my bed tomorrow.”

“Fair enough. Love you.”

“Love you too.” You stepped out and Charles closed the door, placing his hand on the small of your back and guiding you to your father’s favourite car. “He doesn’t even let me drive this, you know.”

“Maybe that’s because you don’t support Ferrari,” Charles teased as you buckled yourself in.

“I support it now.”

“What changed your mind?”

You dared to look at him and met his green eyes. “You.”

—

“Awww, she called her little puppy,” Dev taunted as he spotted Charles walking towards him.

Charles chuckled, but it held no humour and his smile was dark. You had never seen that look in his eye and your thighs clenched in response. “At least she will still call me. You just lost the best thing you never deserved.”

“Well you can have the frigid bitch, good luck getting her to put out though. Fucking cocktease.” The snort Dev made was cut off by the fist that crashed into his nose and then the both of them were going to the floor, grappling and twisting until Kimi darted into the fray and grabbed Charles.

“Go, she’s at home,” Kimi ordered as he pushed Charles back the way he came. “I’ve got it from here, kid.”

The video looped back to the start and you watched it twice more before determining you were fucked. It hit you like a train, the pressure slamming into your chest as you realised you were in love with Charles. No one had ever stood up for you like that, or taken a punch for you or risked their career. But he had.

You stayed cocooned in your blankets for most of the morning, watching the video footage from the night before and it became your new favourite binge worthy entertainment. It would probably be classed as insanity if anyone knew you had become addicted to it, but it was only the fact someone knocked at your door that you placed your phone down.

“Charles? I’m getting a little déjà-vu here,” you commented as you opened the door and found him sweating.

“Will you go on a date with me?” he blurted out. “Please.”

Your brows shot up at the outburst and you checked the student halls were empty before pulling him into your room. “Uh, you do realise who my father is, right?”

“I do, thank you for your concern,” he chuckled. “I was actually just with him. I wanted his permission to ask you on a date.”

“Well that explains why it looks like you’ve been running for your life.” You looked at your door expecting to see it kicked in. “Was he chasing you?”

“What? No, I wasn’t running. Fuck,” he groaned as he ran his hands over his jeans to dry his clammy palms. “I was just nervous about asking you out. You still haven’t answered my question.”

“I will.”

“Answer the question or go out with me?”

“I will go out with you,” you clarified with a laugh.

Relieved, he took a seat at the edge of your bed and sighed happily. “I have been waiting years to ask.”

“Seriously?”

He nodded before flopping himself down comfortably and you dropped down beside him. “Your dad scared me,” he admitted as he took your hand in his.

“But not anymore.”

Charles smiled and it was one so similar to the video that was still playing on loop. He seemed to recognise the muffled sound coming from the blanket at the same time you remembered it was there and fished it out. “You’ve seen it.”

“Once or twice,” you lied. “I see why you’re not afraid anymore. That’s one hell of a right hook.”

“Oh no I am definitely still afraid of Kimi,” he corrected as he rolled on his side to face you. “But I am done watching you date assholes when I know exactly how you deserve to be treated. I want to give you the world, if you’ll let me.”

[promise-you-doie]

Best Friend Ever | S. Eunseok

Eunseok x (f) Reader | Fake dating to lovers

Word count: 20k

Warnings: Cursing, suggestive

Genre: Fluff, Suggestive

playlist

A college student rejecting attention is taken aback when a famous athlete asks them out. Confused and suspicious, they confront their past experiences and insecurities as they navigate a newfound curiosity about the athlete's intentions. The story explores personal growth, unexpected connections, and the courage to leave one's comfort zone.

The college classroom buzzed with the low murmur of students chatting and the occasional squeak of chairs being pulled out. Sunlight streamed through the windows, casting a warm glow over the room. In the middle of it all sat You, Your eyes drifting lazily around the room as you waited for class to end, your mind already elsewhere, disinterested in the present. 

A sigh, heavy with restlessness, escapes your lips as you rest your chin in the palm of your hand. Your other hand is used to tap the head of your pen against your laptop, a rhythmic echo of your impatience. You try to divert your eyes from reading the time, but you can't help but glance at it here and there, each glance a testament to your mounting anticipation. 

You startle when a small note lands on your desk, seemingly out of nowhere. Intrigued, you open it, ignoring the sensation of someone's gaze on the back of your head. 

The note simply reads "Hey," followed by a smiley face, but you know exactly who it's from. 

You whip your head around to face your best friend three rows behind you. Sohee's wearing a wide grin on his face when he waves at you. But you only glare in return, a mix of annoyance and amusement in your eyes, before turning back around to face your boredom. Once again just waiting for- 

"That's all for today. Class is dismissed." Your professor's voice echoes through the room, and you can almost feel the collective sigh of relief. It's all you need to slam your laptop shut and jump out of your seat, joining the rush of students eager to leave. 

Sohee is already standing at the door waiting for you, mainly because he saved a lot of time by not having to pack up. You always thought he only attended lectures to distract you, but he would always argue differently. 

As soon as you meet him by the door, he throws his arm around you and pulls you along with him, guiding you out of the classroom before the rest of the students come trampling over you. 

"I'm starving," Sohee mumbles, his voice barely audible over the bustling noise of the hallway, a cacophony of footsteps, chatter, and the occasional laughter. He winces when you push him away from you. 

"People already think we're dating," you say, your eyes scanning the passing students, each of them engrossed in their own world.

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"That's because it is. I don't like people getting the wrong idea," you say, your voice tinged with a hint of unease. 

"I know what it is?" Sohee taunts, his finger jabbing the air. "You're afraid you'll fall for me if I stand too close." 

You roll your eyes, trying to dismiss the thought. "I can guarantee you that's not the case." Sohee hums in disagreement and continues walking ahead of you until you have to follow up with him. 

This was the nature of your relationship. Sohee often liked to hint that maybe you were into him as more than just friends, and you'd be there to shoot it down every time. 

It was annoying sometimes, but Sohee was like a brother to you. You expected him to be annoying. 

"What should we eat? Burgers? Pasta? Pizza?" Your best friend begins to list off. He waved his finger around in the air as if he were actually flipping through the options. 

"We should go for-" "Y/n." A somewhat familiar voice stops you mid-sentence. 

You didn't have to turn around to know that Eunseok was calling for you. You were only confused as to why. After all, you and Eunseok existed in starkly different worlds. 

He was the star of the school. D-1 athlete, attending on a full scholarship. It's impossible to live in the same city as him and not know who he was. The same didn't apply to you.

No one knew who you were. Not because you were super shy and avoided attention, but because you just preferred to hang out with your two friends, Sohee and Ningning, and binge on card games and pizza on Friday nights, a quiet and content life that you cherished. 

So why would Song Eunseok, a well-known college basketball player, be calling out for you?

"Hey," He says when he finally meets up with you, his voice a mix of nervousness and determination.  

"Hello?" You say, confused. Sohee, obviously just as puzzled as you are, bunches his eyebrows together and sticks his lips out into a subtle pout. 

"Will you go on a date with me?" Eunseok's unexpected question hangs in the air.

Things were just getting weirder and weirder. Him picking you out in a crowd of people was odd enough, but now he was asking you out on a date. 

There's only one logical explanation for this. 

He was pranking you. You had your fair share of brutal jokes, especially among ruthless high school boys who always made it clear that no one would ever seriously be into you. 

You thought things like that only happened in grade school, but old habits do die hard. 

You snark. "No, thank you." The words come out harsher than you intended.. You attempt to walk away, assuming he'll accept the rejection and leave you alone. You should've known better. 

"Please," he pleads, halting you in your tracks. You pivot and stride back toward him.

"I'm not falling for any of your tricks." 

"One date." He holds each of his hands up in the air. "No tricks, I promise." The look on his face tells you that he's being genuine. Yet, you still look to your best friend for an answer. 

Except he only shrugs. You don't know what you were expecting from him anyway. He was never helpful before, and he won't be beneficial now. 

"When?" You ask, turning back to Eunseok. 

"Are you busy right now?" He shoots. 

"Umm..." 

Eunseok pulls out the chair so you can sit down first. You accept his offer and place your bag on the floor beside you. You notice how empty the lunchroom is. 

"If you wanna get into my pants, you're gonna have to do a lot better than this." You comment, your voice echoing in the empty school cafeteria. 

"I'm not trying to get in your pants." Eunseok's voice cuts through the silence, and his glare makes you feel small and insignificant. You shift in your seat at the sudden discomfort. 

"Well then... What do you want?" You hesitated, trying to read his true intentions. 

"I need you to be my girlfriend," he replied casually as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

 "You need me to?" Leaning in closer, you were intrigued, eager to understand his unconventional request.

"My family is starting to think I'm gay." He admits, and it makes you jump back. Who would've thought that star athlete Song Eunseok was battling with his sexuality? 

"I'm not," he says with a knowing look as if he could hear every thought racing through your mind.

 "Huh?" You blink in astonishment, your eyes widening, and shift in your chair, the leather creaking beneath you as you settle back in.

"Look, I just need you to meet my family here and there. Nothing serious."  

"Are you asking me to fake a relationship with you?"

"Yes, exactly." He nods with a severe expression, showing no sign of amusement. It was as if he had done this before.

"I'm not interested," you declare firmly, rising from your seat and gathering your belongings. 

Eunseok's voice quivers with desperation as he says, "I'll pay you," attempting to entice you to stay.

You express your disdain by poking your tongue through your cheek. The sound of your bag dropping to the floor fills the room as you turn to face him. "Money doesn't sway me. You can't just dangle it over my head and expect me to jump when you tell me to," you assert, pressing your palms onto the table.

To your surprise, Eunseok smirks. "You're a smart, independent woman," he says, and you nod. 

"I am." 

"I admire that about you." He stands up so that now you have to look up at him. "Which is why I chose you of all people."

"That's flattering. How much are you paying."

"Wait, you're dating him?" Sohee exclaims, yanking his head out of your empty fridge.

You nod, "Yeah." Your lips pressed together. It wasn't easy to lie to your best friend, but you knew you had to. He had a terrible habit of just talking, talking to any and everyone about any and everything. One time, in fifth grade, you told him about a crush you had on some guy in your class. You don't remember how word got around to the entire school, but you remember that the tracks led right back to your loose-lipped best friend. The potential consequences of this secret being revealed were too significant to risk. 

"So he asked, and you just said 'yes'? No questions asked?" Sohee asks, his voice filled with disbelief. 

"Pretty much." You shrug. 

Sohee ponders, his body plopping down on the couch in front of you. You could always tell when he was thinking because his bottom lip would poke out, and he scratched the back of his head. It was rather cute, but you'd never admit that aloud. "This doesn't make any sense." He finally mutters through a pout, his brows furrowing in confusion. 

"What's not making sense?" You ask calmly, crossing your arms and leaning back against the sofa. 

"Did he cast a spell on you or something?" He sits up. "You hate ball players." 

"I do." You nod. "but he's different." You don't have to convince yourself you knew Eunseok very differently from the other sports players you were previously acquainted with. For starters, none of them would ever consider you to be their girlfriend, real or not. 

"How would you know that after just one date?" Sohee almost shouts. 

"Look, will you just trust me? I know what I'm doing." You said, your voice filled with a determination that Sohee had rarely heard before. He takes a deep breath and throws his head back against your small orange sofa. All the thinking was draining him. 

"Do you trust me?" 

"I guess I have no choice." Your best friend reassures you. Tiredly, rubbing his hands against his face. 

"Good," you exclaimed with a smile, jumping up from your seat to stand in front of him with your hand held out. "Now, let's go get some food. I know you're hungry."

"You're not gonna start ditching me to hang out with your new boyfriend, right?" Sohee sits across from you in the diner that you frequented too often. Usually, you'd visit with Ningning, but she was pretty busy these days. 

"He'll never get in between us." 

"Promise?" He asks, peering up through his eyelashes. 

You never made promises unless you knew for a fact you could keep them, which is why you wrapped your pinky finger around your best friends without a shadow of hesitation. You were certain you would never break this promise.

"It's so strange now that you have a boyfriend." Sohee breaths just as your phone begins to vibrate.

Eunseok: Hey, I need you.

You: First off, that sounds weird. And secondly, I can't. I'm busy

Eunseok: You need to be busy with me.

You: why are you so weird?

"I'm gonna ask for refills," Sohee announces, his voice cutting through the buzz of conversation in the air and causing you to pull your eyes away, momentarily captivated. "Alright," you reply with a smile, and as Sohee walks off, you feel the familiar buzz of your phone vibrating in your pocket, drawing your attention once again.

Eunseok: My family wants to meet you.

You: Hard pass; I'm hanging out with my best friend. Maybe next time :)

Eunseok: $100

You: I can't just leave him.

Eunseok: $250.

You: Deal.

Eunseok: Perfect, I'll meet you at your place.

"Are you leaving?" Sohee asks, his disappointment palpable in his voice."Sorry, Hee. I'll make it up to you, I promise." You rush, reaching into your wallet to leave a twenty-dollar bill on the table. While Sohee plops down in disbelief, his mouth slightly agape. 

"What are you wearing?" Eunseok asks, leaning against his sleek silver 2021 Jeep Wrangler. 

"I tried to be normal," you frown, looking down at your chosen outfit.

"Normal looks weird on you," he advises. "Go change."

"But your parents-" "Will like you, no matter what. Just be yourself," he cuts you off and grabs your shoulder to turn you back towards your apartment complex.

“And be fast.” He says last. 

You ask, "How is this?" while standing in front of him, extending your arms so that he can take in your entire outfit. "Much better," he nods in approval and courteously opens the car door for you to get in. His car is immaculately clean and impressively modern. Nothing like you’d see any other college student drive, athlete or not. Maybe Eunseok was an exception because he wasn’t just any athlete but one of the best. 

You can’t say you cared enough to know. You were more worried about other things. 

“You don’t have any exes I need to know about, right?” You ask, “You know… anyone who still has unresolved feelings and isn’t really good at talking things out.” 

“No one is going to show up at your door,” Eunseok reassures, his eyes focused on the road ahead, offering you a sense of security. 

“And do you have STDs or anything?” 

‘Why is that important?” He breaks his concentration to look at you.

“You’re right.” You nod, twirling your fingers and looking around until you see something outside of the window that catches your attention. 

“Any other questions?” He asks through his smirk, one that you were already beginning to hate. 

“Why me?” Eunseok opens his mouth to begin to speak, but you stop him before he can, “And don’t try that fake feminist bullshit on me. I know how you men are.” You add. 

To which he lets out a small laugh, “You were the first person to come to mind because I knew I’d never fall for you, so I don’t have to worry about things getting complicated.” 

It sounded harsh, but you were used to it. No guys ever looked in your direction. The ones that did only wanted one thing, and it wasn’t a cool, loving, caring girlfriend. The problem wasn’t that you were ugly. You were just too different. The way you talked, the things you liked, the way you dressed. You were far too strange for anyone to love you. Well, except for Sohee, of course, but that was only because he was a little strange himself. 

“Likewise.” You hum and continue gazing out of the window. 

When Eunseok reaches the driveway of his family home, he parks and turns almost his whole body around to face you. “Okay, first, I need your phone,” he demands with his hand out. 

You ask, “What do you need my phone for?” Yet you still hold your phone in the palm of his hand and patiently wait for him to reveal his plan. 

“Here you go.” He passes your phone back with his contact on display. 

“My everything?” You read aloud, your eyebrows instinctively furrowing. You thought that was the worst of it, but when your phone closes, you catch a glimpse of his face on your lock screen. “No offense, but I don’t wanna see your face every time I open my phone.” 

“You can change it back later.” He says unamused. 

“Okay but who’s gonna believe that we're so in love after two days?” You ask, folding your arms. 

“That reminds me, if they ask, we've been dating for three months.” 

“Don’t you think they’ll find it strange that we’ve been dating for three months, and you haven’t mentioned having a girlfriend?” You question. 

“Will you just trust me on this?” He asks, reminding you of when you asked Sohee the same question. You give him a half nod and breathe, “You’re the one paying me, so I guess I have to.” 

Eunseok’s little brother greets him as soon as he gets out of his truck. Wrapping his small arms around Eunseok’s legs. “Hey, critter, where’s mom?”

The little boy you assume is around six years old, seeing as you could hear his lisp when he says, “She’s in the kitchen talking to dad. I don’t think they know you’re here yet.” And suddenly, the kid turns to you. His smile, no longer evident, was replaced with a look of concern. You mirror his expression as the boy asks, “Who’s this?”

“This is my girlfriend.” Eunseok introduces you, moving to rest his arm around your waist. Your initial instinct is to push him off of you and slap him, but you do your best to try and muster up a smile instead. The only problem is that you don’t know how to fake a smile, and you think you might’ve scared the boy while trying to.

“You couldn’t just say hi to my little brother?” Eunseok scolds you the second the small boy disappears into the house. 

“Kids make me nervous.” You defend yourself as you pull his arm off of you. “This is gonna be an extra ten bucks, by the way.” You add, referring to his hand placements. 

“Maybe I should’ve gone with someone else.” 

“It’s not too late!” Your suggestion falls on deaf ears when he grabs your hand and guides you into his family home. Which you didn’t realize was so big until you got inside. Everything looked so expensive. “Woah, I didn’t know you were-”

“You’re here early. I haven’t even started prepping yet.” Eunseok's mother unintentionally cuts you off to welcome him into a hug. “And I’m assuming this is your girlfriend.” She adds, looking at you. 

“Yeah, this is Y/n,” Eunseok speaks for you. 

“Aren’t you just the prettiest thing.” You were never good with compliments, mainly because you weren’t used to getting them. So, while you should’ve smiled and replied with a humble “thank you.” You say, “I know.” Instead. 

Eunseok's head swiftly turns in your direction, and his mom's smile drops. "I mean, Eunseok tells me that all the time. It's become a habit of his." Nice save, you think to yourself, noticing how Eunseok's shoulders relax. 

"You're a very lucky girl. You know there's no one like my son." 

"You're right; never in my life have I met anyone like Eunseok." You grin, knowing that you don't mean it the same way she does. 

"I'd say I'm the lucky one. Y/n's top of her class and she just started her internship for a space program. Plus, she's funny and gorgeous, and she supports me. Not to mention, I've also never met anyone like her." Eunseok wraps his arm around you to pull you closer to him. 

Strangely enough, you didn't feel the need to rip his arm off and punch him in the face like you wanted to the last time. Instead, you're more impressed that he even knew about your internship and thought you were funny. Although you were sure, he was just saying that to feed that facade you two had going on. 

"I would just say we make a good match." You add. 

As the older woman beams and compliments the both of you on how good you look together, you exhale in relief. But when Eunseok's father strides into the room, his gaze sweeping over you from head to toe, you realize his mom was just a warm-up act.

"You into fashion?" The older man's voice is so deep it echoes through your eardrums. Your knees buckled, and if it weren't for the hand that Eunseok kept firm around your waist, you would've run out of the door screaming. 

"Uh, um, yeah. Well, no, actually. I mean, it's… cool… sometimes."  You stumble over your words. Your heart races the more he looks at you; you feel like he knows everything. He knows you're lying to him; he knows you're accepting payment from his son to keep up this act, and he probably knows about that pen you stole from Sohee last week. 

“I like it, it’s different.” His father says, referring to your outfit. “Good choice, you better treat her right.” He turns to the tall, younger male beside you. 

“I intend to,” Eunseok responds. 

“Why don’t you give her a tour of the house? I’ll call you down when dinner is ready.” His dad suggests and leaves you and Eunseok alone for a moment. 

Rather than allowing Eunseok to guide you, you grab his wrist and pull him up the stairs to the first room you find, which, luckily for you, happens to be his room. You rush to lock the door and stomp back towards him. Your voice still shaky from the interaction with his father, you say, “I don’t wanna do this anymore.” 

“What you have to.” Eunseok pleads. 

“No, tell them I died in a tragic accident and that you can’t ever move on from me. That'll solve both of our problems.” You argue. 

“It’s not that bad.” He says incredulously, holding his arms over his chest. 

“It's not bad. It’s horrible.” 

“My parents like you already, I can tell.” Eunseok pleads, attempting to convince you. 

“That’s worse, you idiot.” You catch yourself from yelling too loud. “I’d rather they hate me so they won’t wanna see me again.” 

Both of you take a break from arguing to respond to his mom when she asks. “How are you guys doing up there.” 

“We’re fine.” You say in unison as you stare at him with the look of death. 

“I can see why it’s so hard for you to get a girlfriend.” You insult. “After today, we’re done.”

“What? Are you breaking up with me?”

“I am.” You assure him as you walk away. Opening the door to find his brother on the opposite side. You pause for a moment, unsure of what to say or do. He blinks at you and you awkwardly coo, “Hey, little boy.”

“Are you really dating my brother?” The kid inquires, staring up at you with a puzzled expression.

“Umm, yeah.” You wanna roll your eyes. You couldn’t believe you were still going with this bit after arguing that you were done.

“That makes me happy because you’re really pretty. Do you wanna see my room?”

“Sure, why not.” You think aloud.

“Yay! Come on, it's this way.” The child cheers, tugging on your wrist to lead you to his room. 

If possible, your body entered a whole other dimension. The model solar system scattered around the ceiling was the first thing that caught your attention. The life-sized astronaut standing in the corner of the room made your heart leap out of your chest. Hands down this was the coolest room you had ever seen in your life. 

“What the fu-“ You stammer, catching yourself before you can finish your sentence. 

“Don’t worry.” The boy sings, “I won’t tell anyone.” 

Your joy came to a harsh halt, when Mr Song announced that dinner was ready. The small boy remained by your side while you glared at his older brother. You roll your eyes when Eunseok pulls a chair out for you and gestures for you to take a seat. 

You accept the seat reluctantly, but refuse to thank him. The room is quiet, exactly how you prefer to keep it. 

"How long have you been dating Eunseok?" His father abruptly interjects, shattering the fragile silence you had painstakingly maintained. 

"Um." You gulp, your voice betraying the effort to conceal your discomfort, "Like three months… an- and a half?" 

"Three months?" Mr Song repeats, turning to Eunseok. For a small moment all of the attention is off of you, which allows you to release the breath you've been holding for over five minutes. "How come we're just now finding out about her?" 

The question makes you tap Eunseok's leg because you already warned him about this. "Just trust me." He said, but now he's stuttering and tripping over his words. "I- well, she-" 

"It's my fault." You interrupt, "I wanted to make sure we were compatible before I just sprung myself on his family." 

"Let me just say we are absolutely delighted to finally meet you. You are such a charming young lady," his mom gushes. "Did you know you're the first girl he's ever introduced to us?" 

“Really?” You ask, unsurprised. "You know, it's actually really funny that you say that because sometimes I find myself questioning if he's-" and as you're about to finish the sentence, a sharp pain shoots through your abdomen. To his parents, he was just being affectionate, innocently wrapping his arm around you to demonstrate his love for your personal space. None of them would've guessed what was honestly going on.

"What were you saying, honey?" Mrs. Song smiles, anticipating ‌ hearing the rest of your thoughts. 

"Sometimes I wonder if he’s even real." You force a grin, your words laced with a hint of bitterness that you hope goes unnoticed.

“It was lovely having you.” Mrs. Song beams happily, standing by the doorway of their family home. 

You reply, “It was nice being here.” While subtly removing Eunseok's arm from around your waist, or at least trying to. But his hold just got tighter with each attempt you made to push him off.

“I don’t want you to go.” The small boy pouts in front of you. 

“Don’t worry, she’ll be back,” Eunseok responds to the boy for you.

“Promise?” The little boy looks up at you with glossy eyes and one of the sweetest smiles you’ve ever seen in your entire life. How could you say no to such a sweet face?

“I promise.” You reassure looking everywhere but the boy in front of you. 

“I can’t wait to see you again.” His mother claps. “Drive safe.” She cheers as Eunseok guides you to his car. You wait until the front door is shut, and no one can hear you before you push him away from you and hold your hand up as if you’re about to slap him.

“I should kill you.”  You growl. 

"At least let me drive you home first.” He suggests holding his truck door open for you. You wanna slap him, choke him, kick him in his knees, and make him beg for mercy. But you roll your eyes instead and take your spot in his passenger seat. 

“Your family is kinda cool, even though your dad scares the shit out of me.” You mutter, staring out the window at the passing cars on the road. 

“You know you’re welcome anytime.” 

“I think it’s best we keep this professional. I don’t want you to ease up on payments because you think we’re friends.” 

“That’s fair.” Eunseok nods. 

“You and I could never be friends. We’re too different.” You add, resting your head against the back of your seat. 

“I’m starving.” Sohee whines, throwing his head against the back of your couch. 

You laugh, “you always are.” Squishing his cheeks together. 

“This isn’t funny Y/n. I could die if I don’t eat something in the next 2 seconds.” 

“You’re not going to die. I ordered pizza 20 minutes ago; it should be here any minute.” As if on cue, there’s a knock at your door, and before you can say or do anything, Sohee is shooting up to retrieve it. 

“Oh, it’s you…” Sohee squints at the tall ball player in front of him as soon as he opens the door.

“Who is it?” You ask, jumping up from your couch to stand next to Sohee. “Oh… Eunseok. What- umm. What are you doing here?” 

“My mom saw how much you liked the food yesterday, so she asked me to bring you some leftovers.’ Euseok pushes the bag full of containers in your direction. 

“Did she really? Are the green beans in here too?” You ask, snatching the bag from his hand. 

“Yeah, I think she packed everything.” Eunseok scratches the back of his neck.

“I feel like I just abducted and woke up on Venus.” You squeal, rushing towards your table to dig through the bag.

“Huh?” 

“She’s thankful,” Sohee explains for you. 

“Well, tell your mom I said thank you. Bye, love you.” You rush, pushing him out of the way and slamming the door in his face. 

When you turn back on your heels you’re surprised to see Sohee staring at you with an equally surprised expression on his face. “Are you guys saying that already?” Sohee asks 

“Well, we’re moving kinda Fast because… You know… We just never know when we’re gonna … die.” You laugh awkwardly.

“You know you’re really unpredictable,” Sohee continues to stare.

“What do you mean?” You plop down at your table, half waiting for his explanation but mostly interested in the food in front of you.

“You guys have nothing in common. He’s well known and attractive, but you never cared about that kind of stuff.” Your best friend watches as you unpack the leftovers your “boyfriend” just bought you. ‘You say you love him, but can you name just one thing you like about him?” 

If you were in a serious relationship you might’ve cared about what it was that Sohee had to say, but nothing about this was real. So you couldn’t care. You couldn’t care even if you tried. 

“I like him because his mom knows how to cook.” You answer with your mouth full.

"What did you guys think about that movie I told you to watch?" Ningning asks, walking between you and Sohee. The hallways are full of students and teachers as the three of you walk through the somewhat heavy crowd. 

"I didn't watch it." Sohee shrugs while eating the burrito he begged you to buy because he was "so hungry, he could pass out."

You answer, "It was horrible," ready to give a detailed description of why you hated it and everything that was wrong with it.

"Wasn't it," Ningning replies. 

"I can't believe I let you talk me into watching it." You gasp.

"I had to make sure it wasn't just me." She says, but you don't fully process it because you feel the ghost of someone's hand about to grab yours. On instinct, you attack; what else were you supposed to do? Unfortunately, right after you turn around to punch the stranger in the face, you freeze. The stranger isn't a stranger but your (fake) boyfriend, standing there with a shocked expression and blood dripping from his lip.

"Oh my god." You shriek, "I didn't mean to -"

"It's okay; don't worry about it," Eunseok mutters, but the growing puddle of crimson red liquid tells you that it definitely isn't okay.

"You're bleeding!" You acknowledge reaching for his bottom lip. 

"It's fine, I'll be fine. Let me just take you to class." 

"Well, let me clean you up." You continue, staring at his busted bloody lip. 

"It doesn't even hurt." He cheers, shaking his head. 

"I won't be long; I have my first aid kit right here." 

“You carry around a first aid kit?” He questions, his eyebrows raising in surprise, as you push him into a random empty classroom. “Do you just punch people often?”

“It was an accident.” You answer, your voice softening, as you rip a sanitary wipe open and tap it against his lip. “Why would you even be grabbing my hand in public anyway?” You ask, while continuing to repair his busted lip. 

“You’re my girlfriend; I’m supposed to treat you as such.” He mumbles.

"Fake girlfriend." You respond, your voice tinged with a hint of bitterness, as you sit up with a tube of ointment on display. "Apply this again before you go to sleep tonight, and it should be healed in no time. And don't lick your lips. This stuff tastes disgusting."  

"I don't imagine it would taste like strawberries." He remarks. 

You back away from him with your hands on your hips. "Whatever, you still didn't answer. Why were you sneaking up on me?"  He doesn't say anything for a short few moments, and you can tell that he's thinking about how to say what he's going to say. 

"So my dad is good friends with my coach, and word got around." He mumbles the last part, but it’s intentional this time.

"Word got around?" Your eyes widen at the thought, "So I'm stuck with you?" You ask, raising your hand to push your hair out of your face, and rolling your eyes when you see Eunseok flinch at your sudden movements. 

'You say that like it's a bad thing." 

"It's certainly not a good thing." You shout again. Which only makes Eunseok lean away from you, arms shielding his face. 

"Relax, I'm not gonna hit you." You breathe, "Although I should." 

"Are you mad?" Eunseok says after a long silence. 

You respond sarcastically, "No, of course not." You tilt your head to stare at the basketball player in front of you, wondering how you managed to get yourself into this situation. "In fact I couldn't be happier." 

"Since when were you and Eunseok a thing?" Ningning asks, emphasizing Eunseok's name. 

Ever since the interaction between you and him in the hallway, all you heard was his name. 

"A month," Sohee answers on your behalf,

"You knew?" Ningning whips her head around to the boy. "How come I'm just finding out about this?" 

"I tried to keep it as private as possible." You answer. 

"What, so you told Mr. Blabber mouth over here?" Ningning’s accusatory finger points at Sohee, who's innocently munching on his sandwich. "You know, you guys really make me feel left out." 

"That's what happens when you choose other people over us?" You shrug. 

"It would still be nice to know about what's going on in my best friend's life." Ningning debates.  "And what about you? Are you datin—never mind?" Ningning stops herself. Both of you know ‌that Sohee was never private about anything. The entire planet would know if he got a girlfriend. Considering he couldn't keep a secret even if his life was at stake.

"How did you even start dating? You two are so… different." The girl rests her chin in her open palm. 

"That's what I said! What could you possibly like about him? He's just some dumb ball player."  Sohee adds. 

“Dumb ball player? You might have a crush on Y/n, but that does not give you the right to down-talk the Song Eunseok.” Ningning jumps up, swinging her finger around.

All you can do is facepalm. This is why you never tell them anything; it always causes an argument. Too immersed in your friends in front of you, you don’t notice when Eusneok appears next to you until he says, “Do you mind if I sit here.” 

“Don’t you wanna sit with your other friends?” You look around the area for all the possible seats he could take besides right next to you. You were starting to think he didn’t understand what personal space was. 

"You're here." He says, occupying the seat without your permission. 

"The more I look at it, it kinda makes sense," Ningning interjects, tilting her head. 

Sohee soon does the same, only to mumble, "I still don't get it." 

"Okay, what are you guys thinking for tonight?" You try to change the subject. You feared that if you talked too much, you'd accidentally reveal how you felt about Eunseok and that this entire bit was fake.

"Why don't we just do Pizza?" Ningning suggests, but Sohee is quick to knock down the idea. 

"We always do pizza. Why don't we do tacos." 

"Mm yeah, tacos sounds good." You nod, "Let's do tacos." 

"I don't want tacos." Ningning frowns, "How about sushi?" 

"I'm good with sushi." Sohee agrees. 

"Perfect, we're going with sushi." You clap, but your joy is short-lived as Eunseok's sudden grip on your wrist startles you, his touch sending a shiver down your spine. 

'What are you guys planning?" He asks.

"Every Friday, the three of us do a game night. It's... it's kinda boring." You say, your voice trailing off, hoping he won't ask to come along. But he doesn't seem to catch the hint.

"Oh really? I'll bring the drinks then." He volunteers

"Oh no, you don't have to." You wave your palms around and shake your head. 

"I don't wanna come empty-handed."

"You don't have to come at all; it's okay." You smile sarcastically. "I'm sure you have better things to do."

"What's better than hanging out with my girlfriend?" He asks, smiling sweetly at you while Ningning squeaks about how cute the two of you are. 

"Since I'm such an awesome girlfriend, I'll let you hang out with your friends tonight." You say through gritted teeth. Squinting as you push his hands away from you.

 "And since I'm an even better boyfriend, I'll hang out with you instead." He grins, overpowering you and pulling in closer to him by your waist.

Sohee grimaces at the sight, "You guys aren't gonna be doing that the whole night, right?" He asks.

Despite all of your attempts to change his mind, Eunseok still finds himself in your living room arguing with Sohee about who knows you better. And leave it up to Ningning to encourage their foolishness. 

“Okay, this one’s easy; what’s her favorite color?” Ningning stands in front of the two boys with flashcards. 

“Blue!” Sohee calls out first. 

“Blue, purple, and green,” Eunseok calls out almost exactly at the same time as Sohee. They both look at you in sync for the answer as your smile grows.

“My favorite color is blue.” You confirm, “and purple and green.” 

You watch Sohee, your melodramatic friend, drop to his knees, his hands gripping his hair in mock despair. “You’re so dramatic,” Ningning chuckles, her laughter filling the room before shuffling the cards to ask another question. 

“Alright, what’s her go-to movie for movie nights.” 

“Umm,” You laugh when Eunseok looks straight at you for the answer. 

“E.T.,” Sohee calls out, jumping and pointing his index finger. He doesn’t have to look at you to find out if he’s right because he knows he is. That’s been your favorite movie since the both of you were kids; you kind of grew out of it since then, but you never missed an opportunity to watch E.T. 

“And the winner is-.” Ningning pauses, eyeing the two boys down for suspicion. “It’s a tie.” She beams. 

Sohee nods and holds his hand out for Eunseok to shake, “You’re cool, I guess.” 

“Thank you.” Eunseok smiles. 

“I still think you don’t deserve her, but you’re not as bad as I thought.” Your best friend explains, looking off to the side. 

“It’s getting late, I’m heading out.” Ningning breaks through the handshake to walk towards your front door. “Let’s go, Sohee.” She calls out behind her. 

“But I wanna finish hanging out with Y/n.” The boy cries but follows after her when she shoots him a deadly look. 

As the door closes behind Sohee, it's just you and Eunseok, the silence amplifying the sense of isolation. 

“I see your lip got better.” You acknowledge it when he sits down on the floor next to you. 

Eunseok taps his bottom lip, “It still hurts, though.” He says. 

You laugh and cup his cheeks with both hands, gently wriggling his face around. “You poor baby, do you want me to kiss it better?” You ask, but he stares at you blankly, his eyes filled with a mix of confusion and amusement. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” You lean back from him, but his eyes never leave you. 

“Thanks for inviting me.” He finally says, leaning back against his palms.

“You invited yourself.” 

“Well, thank you for accepting me; I had fun,” Eunseok replies.” You said you do this every Friday?”

“Do not show up at my door every week, Eunseok; my neighbors are gonna think-” We’re dating.” He adds, finishing your sentence. 

“Just don’t show up here every weekend, okay,” 

“Why are you so mean to me?” 

“I have to make sure you understand that we aren’t friends,” You assert. “And when this deal ends, I’ll probably never talk to you again. So don’t get too comfortable.” 

The next afternoon, you're walking through ‌semi-crowded hallways. Sohee and Ningning, being who knows where you mentally plan what you're going to do once you get home. The plans include changing into sweatpants and watching Netflix until you fall asleep on your couch. 

The thought almost brings a smile to your face; there's nothing you love more than the soft touch of your couch, the familiar scent of your home, and the comforting silence that surrounds you when you're doing nothing in the comfort of your own home. 

Amid your blissful thoughts, you feel a hand wrap around your wrist, breaking your reverie. Instinctively, you roll your eyes before you check to confirm that it's Eunseok. "Come watch me practice." He grins when you turn to face him. 

You ask, "Why would I do that?" Pulling your wrist away from him. 

"So you can meet my friends." He says. 

"Why would I do that?" You repeat. 

"Because I met your friends." 

You say, "I'll pass," but Eunseok quickly grabs your wrist again. 

"Come on, it'll be fun." He doesn't wait for you to agree or disagree before he pulls you towards the gym. 

You were quickly learning about Eunseok. He didn't understand physical boundaries, or any boundaries for that matter, and he loved to ignore everything that came out of your mouth. You could say this was your fault. You let him dangle money over your head, and now you're stuck with him for the next few months. 

Eunseok shifts his hand from your wrist to intertwine his fingers with yours. And before you know it, you're surrounded by sweaty basketball players in the gym. You hear their shoes squeak against the gym floor, along with the bouncing of basketballs. This was the first time you'd ever entered the school gym, considering you never had a reason to. Sports aren't your thing, and before now, you never imagined that you'd end up with a sports player. 

"Yeah, no, I don't want to do this." You mutter, your voice barely audible as you try to walk away. But with your hand still firmly held by Eunseok, a simple tug is all it takes to bring you back into the uncomfortable setting. 

He pleads, "Just this one time.' 

"What am I supposed to do here?" You frown, looking around the dimly lit gym, the sound of sneakers squeaking on the polished floor echoing in your ears.

"Relax and watch your boyfriend play basketball." He smirks down at you. 

You whine, "You're not even my boyfriend." You use your other fist to punch his chest weakly, but as always, your words fall on deaf ears. 

"You're late." A stranger calls out from a few feet away from you. His tone seems harsh, a clear sign of tension, but you ignore it by clinging onto Eunseok. As the unnamed man gets closer, his eyes find yours, and he begins glaring at you, his silent threat hanging in the air. 

“Y/n this is Sungchan.” Eunseok gestures towards the boy in front of you, "And Sungchan, this is." You notice his breath hitch when he pauses. “Y/n.” 

Sungchan looks at you again, but he doesn't do anything else to acknowledge you. "Don't show off because your girlfriend’s  here." He says last before walking away. Allowing you the chance to finally breathe.

"I don't think this was a good idea." 

“Don’t worry he’s not always like that.” Eunseok explains to help make you feel better but it does the direct opposite. 

“Great so it’s just me.” You frown. 

He turns you around so that your facing him, as he takes each of your hands into his own. “Don’t think too much about it okay.” 

“I won’t.” You nod. 

“I’ll go get changed, you can wait over there.” He points with your hand still connected to his. “When were done I’ll treat you to lunch.” 

“If I have to sit here for an hour I’m leaving.” 

An hour quickly turned into two, but you remained planted on the bleachers. You would never say it to him, or even aloud, but you actually enjoyed watching him play. It was entertaining to see how much he enjoyed basketball and how broad his smile was when he turned to you every time he scored. 

You never thought you’d be this into sports, or maybe it was the boy playing the sport.

As practice comes to an end, Eunseok approaches you. “I want to introduce you to my friends.” He says. You look behind his shoulder to see Sungchan already looking at you and shake your head. 

“No, I’ll pass.” You stand up in front ‌of him and grab your bag to leave. 

“It’ll be quick.” He says,

“I have things to do, Eunseok.” You say, Attempting to walk away. Eunseok lets you take two steps before he reaches for your wrist to pull you into his arms and picks you up, barely enough for your feet to hang above the floor. 

“Eunseok.” You slam your fist around his arms, “Put me down.” You continue, but he only laughs, finally landing you on your feet when you’re in front of his friends. 

“Y/n this is Shotaro.” He points to the smiley boy standing beside Sungchan, “That’s Seunghan. That’s Anton, and you’ve met Sungchan already.” 

“How long have you guys been dating?” Shotaro asks before finishing the rest of his water bottle. 

Eunseok answers, “Four months.” 

"Four months, and you haven't told us," Seunghan asks. 

"I wasn't ready to meet anyone yet," You say, your voice dripping with sarcasm. Eunseok chuckles nervously, attempting to diffuse the tension. Your gaze meets Sungchan's, a silent exchange of unspoken words, before he finally breaks the silence.

"Well, if we're finally meeting you, that must mean you're serious, huh?" He says, looking at you.

"You never know what could happen. We might break up tomorrow." You look up at Eunseok, hoping he'll get the message.

Eunseok responds, "But we're not breaking up anytime soon." Wrapping his arm around you. 

Though you're mildly upset with Eunseok, you're even more uncomfortable with the way his basketball mate is eyeing you down. And while you'd usually push your (fake) boyfriend away, you feel the need to hold him closer, mainly because he was the only person in the room who felt somewhat familiar to you.

"Anything could happen," you say while simultaneously resting your head against him, hoping to ease that anxious feeling you're getting. 

Eunseok notices something's wrong when you begin to get unusually touchy—turning in his arms to rest your head against his chest. Their voices become nothing but distant sounds as you disassociate into your thoughts. 

"Are you ready to go?" He whispers into your ear. 

You mutter, "I've been ready to go since we got here." You feel the vibrations in his chest when he laughs. 

"Let's go." He says, reaching for your hand.

"Wait, you don't —""Aren't you hungry?" He interrupts, and you nod, allowing him to guide you out of the gym.

"Didn't know you could be so clingy." Eunseok comments as he reaches to open your drink since you were struggling with opening it yourself. 

He grins, "Here," when passing your drink back and watching you get flustered.

"I don't think we should keep meeting each other's friends." You blurt after thanking him. "It'll just make things more awkward after we break up. They'll want to comfort us and all that weird stuff." 

The way Eunseok looks at you makes your heart skip a beat. Out of nervousness, you take a bite of your sandwich to distract yourself from his gaze. "You're thinking about breaking up already?" He asks.

"How long did you plan on doing this?" You respond, "You know we'll have to stop eventually." 

Eunseok sits back in his seat, "I like introducing you as my girlfriend." he says 

"I think you need a real relationship instead of paying me to pretend with you. It's embarrassing, actually." 

"Maybe I like pretending with you," You look up to see that he isn't even looking at you. He has your heart skipping beats, and he couldn't even give you the decency to look at you.

"Enjoy it while it lasts, 'cause it won't be long." You assert to hide the way you're feeling. 

"I'm thinking about buying a skateboard," Sohee reveals. The clinking of plates and forks around you fades into nothing when you look at your friend wide-eyed. You were used to spontaneous, crazy ideas from him, but they didn't usually include potential suicide.

 "A skateboard?" You repeat

"Do you even know how to skate?" Ningning asked, playfully teasing as she took a bite of her salad.

Sohee looks away. "No, but I have free will and think it could help land me a girlfriend."  

"I think it just would make you look like an idiot with a skateboard." You shrug, "But to each their own." As you wrap your sentence up, you check your phone for the notification that just came in. 

My everything: I miss you

My everything: Let's hang out.

"You know what? I think a skateboard might actually suit you, suit you," you say, trying to dismiss the message you just received.

You observe Sohee's face lighting up. "I knew you'd agree with me," he beams. Then, he turns to Ningning and asks, "Why can't you be more supportive?"

"I can't wait to watch you fall on your face." You add, and Sohee's smile gradually fades. Your phone vibrates a few more times, drawing skeptical glares from both Sohee and Ningning.

"Aren't you gonna answer that?" Ninging speaks up first, her voice tinged with concern. You feel a familiar pang of anxiety as you glance down at your phone, quickly dismissing the call with a hesitant shake of your head. "No, um, it's just spam or something, no one really important," you mumble, hoping to convince both yourself and your friends. Sohee leans in, his brow furrowed in thought. "Have you tried blocking them?" he asks, his tone suggesting a practical solution to what seems like a trivial problem.

"It's no point. They're just going to keep coming back. I'll tell him we aren't friends, and he'll keep bothering me because he doesn't understand anything I say." You vent, the tension in the room thickening as you mindlessly stab the chicken on your tray. 

Sohee readjusts himself in his seat, feeling visibly uncomfortable now since the vibe in the room has changed. "I think blocking him might help with that."

You reach for your phone and press the power button, watching as the screen goes dark. "That should take care of it," you mutter, placing the phone face up on the table. With your attention no longer occupied by the phone, Sohee visibly relaxes, and Ninging seizes the opportunity to steer the conversation in a new direction.

"So, how's everything going with Eunseok?" she asks, a cautious grin spreading across her face.

“Why are you always bringing him up?” You whine. 

“I just wanna know the details. How come you never share the details?” She persists.

You shake your head, “There’s no details to share.” 

“I find it hard to believe that you two are actually dating,” she argues, her top lip turning up. You have nothing to say to that; you’ve been trying your best to sell your act, but you're no actor, and you were never really good at pretending to like people that you didn't.

“We're dating. It’s real.” You nod, using your drink to avoid eye contact. 

“Well, why does it seem like you don’t like him?” Ningning rests her elbows on the table, which makes you nervous for some reason.

"Like him? Please, I like him so much you could even say I love him," you reply with a forced laugh. "Can we change the subject?"

“There’s a basketball game tomorrow; I know we don’t usually go to the games, but I think it could be fu-” Ninging trails off when you throw your head back and groan. 

“I’m not doing this.” 

“Why don’t you wanna go support your boyfriend.” Ningning doesn’t back down. You always told her she could be a lawyer since she had the knack of always getting the truth out of someone. You just hated that she always used her talents on you.

"Sohee, what kind of skateboard are you thinking about getting?" You ask, ignoring the way NIngning looks at you. 

"You know you make it hard for me to believe that two of you are actually dating." She challenges, her tone laced with skepticism.

"I don't know what to tell you. Go ask him yourself, I guess." You shrug

"Name five things you like about Sohee." Ningning spurs randomly. 

"Easy, Umm, he's a good listener; he's fun to be around. He knows the best food places and has a good sense of humor. I like his smile and his fluffy hair."

"Okay, that's six things." 

"I can make it seven. He's fun-sized," you add with a chuckle, the humor in your voice lightening the mood. 

"Okay, great, that's seven. Now, name one thing you like about your boyfriend." 

"He's… Well, he's good at basketball." 

"You know, Ningning is right. I'm more convinced you have a crush on me than you do your boyfriend," Sohee interjects. 

"Whatever, think whatever you want. I don't care." You throw your hands up in defense.

"Yeah, you're not very convincing." Ningning laughs, and Sohee joins her. 

The gymnasium is filled to the brim. You just hope that it's full enough for you to go unnoticed by your boyfriend or any of his teammates. You lost Sohee and Ningning to the concession stand and the group of girls who stopped to ask Sohee if he knew how to skate.

"I'm going to go find seats," you call out, but with all the commotion happening around you, neither of them hears you. 

So you roamed the busy gym by yourself, hiding at the sight of any jersey you saw, especially any jersey with the number thirty nine. Unfortunately for you, there were hundreds of jerseys, with thirty nine going around.

"Hey." A somewhat familiar voice appeared behind you, causing you to stop right in your tracks. You think you'd rather have run into Eunseok, but Sungchan finds you instead. 

You slowly turn to see the tall boy hovering over you, already dressed in his basketball attire. "Hey." You say, sucking in a breath. His gaze is much different than the one he had a week ago; it's softer now, and you think you even see a smile. Still, you hold your breath, scared he might yell at you at any second now that Eunseok isn't around. 

"Umm," he shakes his head, "He's down there." Sungchan points to the very boy you've been avoiding. Thankfully, he's turned away from you, seemingly preoccupied with another conversation. 

"Oh, thanks." You nod.

"I can walk you down if you want." He insists, and you shake your head. 

"No- I think I'm gonna go to the restroom." You point. "I might've drank a little too much." 

"Yeah," he stands, lingering around like he wants to say something else, and you continue holding your breath. "Do you know where the restrooms are? or do you want me to walk you?" 

"I think I can handle finding them on my own." 

"Yeah, yeah, of course." 

"Yeah," you laugh. Shortly after, he laughs along with you. "Good luck with the game, Sungchan." 

"Thanks." He says just before you run off to hide in the restroom. The idea seems great at first, but you begin to have your doubts when you see rolls of toilet paper stringed along the floor, and each stall has evidence of someone else's previous activities. 

You're sure you can find somewhere else to hide out until the game starts, no big deal. 

However, when you see Eunseok leaning against the wall outside, waiting for you, you aren't so certain.

"Damnit, Sungchan," you think to yourself as you look the other way and attempt to pass your boyfriend. 

You thought you had almost slipped away when you felt his hand wrap around your wrist. "You really are here," He grinned as you turned to face him.

"Not because I want to be." You huff, "My friends forced me to come." 

"But if you tell them that you're better without me here, I bet they'll leave me alone," you think aloud. Eunseok smiles to match yours; based on that alone, you get a peak of hope. 

"Yeah, of course." He nods. 

"Okay, umm, just go wait over there. I'll find them, and then you can just say something like, 'Why are you here? I told you not to come. You're going to make me nervous and go home seriously.' And they'll buy it." You grin.

"Right…" 

"Oh, you're the best, thank you. I'll be right back!" you yell, drifting farther away to find your friends. 

"Guys," you panted, holding onto your knees as you caught your breath. “The game is about to start. We need to-" You snatched the water bottle from Sohees's grip and finished the rest of it, which just happened to be the entire thing. 

"We should go sit down, don't wanna miss the game." You pop up.

"But-"Ningning frowns, gesturing to the one person in line in front of her. "I've been waiting here for thirty minutes. I want my hotdog." 

“No time. Let’s go.” You rush, pulling her along with you to the spot you and Eunseok agreed to meet up at. 

Just as promised, Eunseok looks surprised to see you. “Hey, what are you doing here?” He asks, pulling you into a bear hug. 

“I came to watch you play obviously.” You mumbled into his chest. 

“I thought you told me you wouldn’t come.” He says loud enough for your two friends to hear. “I guess you wanted to surprise me.” 

Your eyes go wide and you attempt to push him off of you but that only makes him cling onto you tighter. “Eunseok.” 

He coos, "I'm so glad I have a girlfriend that supports me." Easing up on his hold. "I know I'm gonna do much better now that you're here." He grins despite the way you're glaring at him. 

"You two are so cute. We're going to give you some space." Ningning calls from behind you while Sohee continues to glower at the entire thing. 

"What the hell was that?" You ask as soon as they leave.

"I'm kind of busy right now, but we can talk afterward, right?" He smirks and leans down to kiss your cheek. "Wish me luck." 

"Break a leg." You shout as he backs away from you. "Or both of them." 

The game starts while you're still stomping your way through the gym, your lips turn down into a mean frown, and your arms crossed over your chest. Ningning spots you first and waves her hand around for you to sit between her and Sohee.

"You look mad." Sohee acknowledges.

"Mad? Why would I be mad?" You laugh sarcastically. "I'm not mad."

"He looked at me." The girl behind you squeaks. "Eunseok looked at me." 

"Because of that." Your best friend mutters.

"Y/n isn't a jealous person. it's going to take a lot more than some freshman to tick her off." Ningning speaks up, but she's proved wrong when you turn around and glare at the younger girl. 

"Where'd you get that?" You ask, referring to her jersey.

 "I made it." She beams, "Eunseok is my favorite player."

"Give it to me." 

"No, it's mine." She pouts, possessively holding her garment.

You breathe and reach into your back pocket for your wallet. She looks at you confused when you pull out a hundred-dollar bill. "What's your name?" You ask.

"Lea." She says barely.

"Alright, Lea. I'm going to give you this." You wave around the money, "and you're going to give me that jersey. Okay?"

She nods hesitantly.

"Good girl." You coo, passing her the money and waiting patiently as she pulls the shirt over her head and passes it to you. 

It takes less than a second to slide it over your clothes and marvel at how good it looks. "Perfect fit?"  You smile, and she smiles back, holding a thumbs up. 

"That went a lot better than I thought it would," Ningning comments, her voice filled with relief and amusement, while Sohee picks at the material of your newly acquired jersey.

"Wow, did you actually make this?" He turns to ask, and Lea nods. "This is so good." He continues playing with your shirt until you push his hand away. 

"Do you skate?" She asks. Sohee looks down at the useless skateboard and then up at you, who's giving him a knowing look, anticipating his lie.

"Umm, no, I just thought it would be cool to walk around with." He utters, "But I'm learning."

"That is so cool." She giggles. 

"You think so?" 

You look at Ningning, eyes furrowed, and Ningning looks back at you with the same expression. Neither of you thought that his plan would actually work. 

"Do you wanna come sit by me?" Lea taps the empty spot next to her. He looks to both of his friends for permission, and you nod. 

The game goes on pretty well for the next 30 minutes, or so you assume. You weren't really sure; you just cheered when everyone else cheered and booed when everyone else booed. "Woo." You jump out of your seat, fist in the air. "That's my boyfriend." 

"You're cheering for the wrong team." Ningning informs you. 

"Oh." You pause. "Boo, you suck." Your best friend laughs as you lower back in your seat and continue to watch Eunseok play quietly for the rest of the game. Occasionally locking eyes with Sungchan.

Once everything is over, Eunseok finds you first. "Hey," he announces, interrupting your conversation with Ningning. 

"Hey," You gasp, feeling his warm breath on your neck. He wraps his arms around your waist and draws your back to his chest.

"Do you mind if I walk her home?" Eunseok asks Ningning, his chin resting on your shoulder.

"You can't; we have to look for Sohee." You explain but Ningning shakes her head.

"I don't mind; she was talking about you too much anyway. It was starting to get annoying." Your best friend beams when you scowl at her. "I'll see you tomorrow. Have fun. Bye." 

And when she skips away, Eunseok only pulls you closer to tug on the hem of your shirt. "What's this?" He questions. 

"Someone gave it to me. I figured it'd be rude if I didn't wear it." You lie. "I'm not wearing it for you."

You're scared you'll spill everything if he looks at you any longer. Luckily for you, he just nods and changes the subject. "Sungchan told me you wished him good luck." He says, taking your hand in his.

"I did."

"You told me to break a leg." He responds, sticking his bottom lip out unintentionally. 

"Isn't that a phrase of encouragement? You know, like when people say 'break a leg' before an audition because they want them to get the part." You start rambling even though you know exactly what you meant.

"They don't tell them to break both legs." He says.

You bite back a laugh. "Well, I just wanted you to do really good." 

The sky is pitch dark, not even the stars shine on the warm night. The only light comes from the dimly lit street lamps, casting long shadows on the deserted streets. But you're not gazing at the heavens. You're too busy navigating the path, trying to avoid colliding with Eunseok every few steps.

"Oh, how come you haven't responded to my texts? Is your phone broken?" he asks, breaking the silence you were slowly getting used to.

"No, my phone is fine; I just didn't wanna talk to you." 

He raises an eyebrow, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Ouch," He teases, a smirk playing on his lips.

"I have an idea." You stop and jump in front of him. "Why don't I help you find a real girlfriend? Then we can stop this." 

He looks up and pretends to think, giving you a few seconds of silence before he smiles down at you. "Nope."

"What?" 

 "I don't want to." He shakes his head.

"Have you ever thought about how this is affecting my life?" You whine when he grabs your hand and pulls you back next to him.

"I have, actually. You get a weekly stipend, free game tickets, and an amazing boyfriend. Could things get any better for you?" 

"I have two friends who keep poking their noses into my romantic life and a weirdo who doesn't listen to anything I say." You mutter. 

"I guess there's that too." He grins. "You still have an amazing boyfriend, though, so I think that evens it out." 

"You're not my boyfriend." As suspected, your words go into one ear and straight through the other. He keeps his same stupid grin on his face and your hand wrapped in his until he walks you to your apartment.

“I wonder what my girlfriend is doing.” Sohee pouts, tucking his chin into the palm of his hand. 

“Probably thinking of all the ways to break up with you.” Ningning laughs, and you start to laugh with her, but it quickly turns into a coughing fit. 

“Sorry, guys.” You sniff.

“Don’t worry, girl. It’s fine.” Ningning reassured but continued to back away. 

Sohee passes you a napkin. “Are you getting sick?” 

“I hope not; I don’t wanna cancel our game night.” 

“We might have to,” Ningning speaks. “Don’t worry, we always have next week.”

“But we’ve never missed a week.” You cry, “We’re going so strong I don’t wanna ruin it.” 

Ningning shakes her head. “My health is-“ She stops when she notices how you and Sohee look at her. “Your health is far more important than game nights.” She corrects herself. “So just get some rest. We’ll try again next week.”

You sniff, “Okay.” 

And just as planned, you took Friday off, as your cold just got worse. Your head was banging, your throat was dry, and your nose was so stuffed you could only breathe through your mouth. 

You rotted in your bed, your body temperature far too warm for you to relax, but the room far too cold for you to leave your covers, which was very ironic to you because you set the temperature to seventy-five degrees before you got into bed the night before.

Just as you were about to drift into a peaceful slumber, a sudden knock at the door shattered the tranquility. Frustrated, you reluctantly left the warmth of your bed and trudged through your apartment, emitting groans reminiscent of a zombie. 

"Game nights canceled." You sneeze into your elbow. 

"I heard." Eunseok sneaks his way past you and into your apartment.

"Why are you here then?" You question. 

"To check on you." He responds, "You weren't answering my phone calls."

"I'm sick; I don't really feel like talking right now." You sneeze again. "We'll talk tomorrow, okay?" You rush, pushing him towards and out of the door. He tries to get a few words in, but he's not able to say anything before you yell, "Bye." And slam the door in his face. 

Exhausted, you made your way back to the couch, too weary to even consider returning to your bed.

Around twenty minutes later, there's another knock at the door, and you want to cry out of anger. The more you get up, the more your head hurts. Once again, you're met with Song Eunseok. "Do you listen to anything I say?" You ask, but he only smiles fondly at you.

"I brought medicine." Eunseok covers his face with the hefty medical supply he bought for you. 

“I didn’t ask for it.”

He presses a kiss on your warm cheek. “You’re welcome.” He says before squeezing in past you and closing the door. You fold your arms and watch him find his way to your kitchen. He sits the bag on the table, slides his hoodie off, and folds it over your chair.

“I have a headache, Eunseok; I don’t have time for your games today.”

“Perfect, I bought Tylenol.” He shakes the bottle of supplements.

“Your coach is gonna hate me if I get you sick too.” You plead.

Eunseok finally pauses his movements to say, “I’ll be fine,” nonchalantly as if you weren’t losing your mind at the thought of him missing any of his practices of games because of you—all of the girls who’d line up at your door because their favorite player isn’t playing. You were just sorta getting on good terms with Sungchan; imagine how he’d react if you got his teammate sick.  

“I can hear the death threats now.” You whine, “I’ll take all the medicine, Eunseok. Just go home, please.”

Despite your cries and pleas, he only sighs. “I have to make sure you eat. You can’t take medicine on an empty stomach,” Eunseok informs ever so calmly.

Tilting your head back, you throw your arms down. Your lips naturally fall into a frown. “Why are you making this so hard?” 

“Why are you being so dramatic?” He leaves the kitchen to stand in front of you. Each of his hands lands on your shoulders. The warmth of his touch seeps through your clothes, calming your nerves. “It’s just a small cold. You’re not going to die, and neither am I.” He adds, guiding you to sit on your trim, cozy sofa. “Just relax.”

Something about the way he says it actually makes you want to relax. You inhale and let your shoulders fully rest. “See, that feels nice, doesn’t it?” He coos, his voice soothing and comforting.

“But if you get sick-“ ”I’ll be fine because you’ll be here to take care of me.” He finishes.

He’s not going anywhere; you’ve come to that conclusion when he begins pulling out pots and pans and chopping vegetables in your kitchen. However, you can’t say that it bothers you. With each passing day, your feelings towards him were shifting. You were learning more about him as a person. He was someone that his little brother looked up to, someone that his friends admired and respected. And slowly, he was becoming someone you adored, someone you were starting to have deep feelings for.

You were becoming more comfortable with his presence, so much so you could even say you craved it at times. 

“Drink this.” He mutters, holding a bottle of electrolytes to your lips. This time, you don’t fight him; you don’t have the energy. He taps a napkin under your chin to clean and sits the empty bottle on the coffee table.

“I don’t want to eat; I want to sleep.” You mumble, eyes half closed, when he picks up the homemade soup. 

“Just eat a little, then you can sleep.” 

You open your mouth to say something else but Eunsoek uses that as an opportunity to start spoon feeding you. The soup is warm, and delicious it almost distracts you from the fact that he was feeding you. 

Almost.

“I can feed myself.” You grumble. Voice hoarse as you attempt to get the spoon from his hand. He’s quicker to pull it away from you.

“Would you just let me be a good boyfriend?” Eunseok asks, dipping the spoon and bringing it back up to the tip of your lips.

“You’re not-“ You huff and roll your eyes, accepting defeat. “Fine.” You breathe reluctantly  allowing him to continue spoon feeding you. The pattern continues until the bowl is empty, your stomach is full and your eyelids are heavy. 

“See that wasn’t so bad was it?” He asks but the only response he gets is a hum from while you shift on the couch and rest your head in his lap. 

“Can I go to sleep now?” You respond sluggishly against his thigh. 

Eunseok croons, “I won’t stop you.” As he slides the polyester blanket up to your shoulder. Pushing your hair out of your face when you curl up against him. 

As soon as he gives you permission, you let yourself drift off to sleep. Maybe it was the warmth of the soup, the soothing effects of the medicine, or perhaps it was the gentle way he strokes your head. You find yourself much more at ease with his presence compared to two hours ago when you were tossing and turning in bed, struggling to find a comfortable sleeping position.

As you awaken, you find yourself nestled in your bed, cocooned within the worn, soft pink comforter. The morning sunlight streams through the curtains, gently warming your face as you slowly open your eyes. A deep yawn breaks the silence as you slowly stretch your arms and arch your back. You notice that your breathing feels clearer, and the scratchiness in your throat has significantly decreased since yesterday. 

Knowing you have only one person to thank for that, you skip to your living room. Smiling internally when you see Eunseok asleep on your couch, his legs hanging off the sofa because of how tall he was. You kneel in front of him and lay your hand on his chest just barely, but it's enough to wake him up. 

As his eyes slowly flutter open, you hear Eunseok's gentle voice inquire, "How do you feel?" His warm hand reaches out to brush your forehead, checking for any signs of a fever. 

A soft smile spreads across your face as he then caresses your cheek. "I feel better," you murmur, savoring the tender touch.

"Are you hungry?" You ask eagerly, infused with warmth toward him. "I'm really not a good cook but I could order something."

Fake dating was starting to get easier. Once you realized you were getting paid to hold some basketball player's hand and call yourself his girlfriend, everything else just fell into place.

Mostly everything.

You weren't as comfortable around Eunseok's friends as He was around yours. Avoiding them seemed to be the best option, but Sungchan was making that so much harder for you.

"Catch," Shotaro calls right before a basketball comes flying straight toward your head. You should've moved or even attempted to dodge it, but you go into shock, your feet planted firmly on the ground, and your eyes squeezed shut as the ball gets closer. You wait for the ball to come into contact with your face, but it never does. 

"Careful." Sungchan sounds, throwing the ball back to his teammate. Slowly, your eyes flutter open, turning to see Sungchan standing behind you. On instinct, you shuffle away from him but nearly trip over your own two feet, and he quickly reaches to grab you by your arm and steady you. 

"Sorry, I- umm- I didn't mean to interrupt you guys I was just looking for-" You weren't usually nervous like this, and it wasn't a lot of people who could get this reaction out of you but much like Euneseok's father, Sungchan scared the life out of you.

"He isn't here." He states. 

"Okay, thanks."  You scramble towards the exit without saying another word, your heart racing and your palms sweaty. 

Your second encounter with him was when you were walking down the busy hallway. Preoccupied by your phone, you weren't paying attention to where you were going. It was a habit of yours that Sohee was trying to help you break since you were in high school. But like you always say, old habits die hard.

Sohee: Quick, Lea is demanding I take her on a date. What do girls like?

Ningning: Teach her how to skateboard. I'm sure she'd love that. 🤭

Sohee: this is serious 

 You: I already told you all girls aren't the same. Ask her what she wants.

Sohee: I tried that, she told me to figure it out.

Ningning: 😭😭

You: dude. buy her flowers or something, she’d probably enjoy a cute picnic.

Sohee: She's allergic to bees. What if I take her on a picnic and she gets stung and dies like in that one movie.

You're still typing when you run face-first into the soft flesh of someone's palm. You blink once, twice before following the trail of their arm back to Sungchan's face. "Watch where you're going." He glares down at you, his stern gaze making you feel small and vulnerable.

You can tell he's trying to be endearing, but it sounds harsh and doesn't help your racing heart or the hundred thoughts swirling in your mind. Most of them conclude with you breaking into tears right there on the spot.

"I'm sorry." you spur and run the opposite way, knowing that it's going to take longer to get to your next class. 

Another time, you're wandering around the student library searching for a specific book. It was closing soon, and you knew you had to hurry, but the book was nowhere to be found. You had already asked the librarian three times, so you weren't really eager to ask her again for the fourth time, but you did anyway. Tiptoeing back to the main desk as if it would decrease your embarrassment in any way. 

"Hey, umm, are you sure the book is in section C? I checked a few times and couldn't find it," you ask.

"You can't find it?" The older woman repeats, and you nod. 

"No."

"That's too bad." She snickers almost like a witch, which would've intrigued you any other time, but right now, you were desperate. 

"Okay." You pull your lips into a tight-lipped smile and turn away from the desk. Treading back towards the section she advised you earlier and running your fingers through each book. You make it to the bottom of the shelf before you throw your head back and huff in sheer frustration. That's when your eyes land on the very book you've spent fifty minutes looking for, all the way at the top of the shelf. 

Quickly, you push yourself up on your feet and stick your arm over your head, except the book is out of your reach. You stand on your tippy toes and try again; this time, just as you're about to grab it, another hand comes into view and pulls it right over you.

"Hey." You call, spinning around to confront the book thief. But your arms nearly get weak when you catch sight of Sungchan, holding your book. 

It happens again: Your stomach is twirling, your heartbeat is unsteady, and your palms are so sweaty that if you wiped them against your shirt, you would probably leave handprints. 

"I kinda need that." Your voice, tinged with vulnerability, comes out a lot smaller than you had planned for it to.

"This?" He asks, showing off the book.

You nod, your eyes trained to the object in his large hands.

A faint smirk played at the corner of Sungchan's lips. "Why should I give it to you?" he teases.

"Because I'm your friend's girlfriend." You blink bashfully, hoping that would be enough for him. 

Suddenly, his lips straighten out into a thin line, and you think you might've even seen him straighten up. "Right," he mutters, handing the book over. 

Just like that?  You think to yourself, your relief palpable as you hesitantly accept the book, half-expecting him to pull it back right when you get the tips of your fingertips on it. 

"Thanks- uh, Thank you." You stutter. 

He utters, "Yeah." And walks away, leaving you even more confused than before. 

You figured things were probably never going to get easier with his friends, but that wasn't a permanent problem since you and Eunseok weren't going to be "dating" for much longer anyway. 

It's pitch dark when your eyes flutter open. From the lack of light, you knew it still had to be midnight. You throw your hand around and blindly search for your vibrating phone, not without wondering who could be calling you so late at night. 

“Hello?” You utter breathlessly into your phone speaker, eyelids half open and not knowing who’s voice you’re going to hear on the other line.

“I didn’t think you’d answer.” Eunseok sounds directly in your ear. The base of his voice causes your eyes to fully open. You can hear that he’s been up for a while, or maybe he hasn’t gotten any sleep at all. 

“What do you want?” You groan, “I’m not leaving my bed.”

“I just wanna talk to you, I can’t sleep.” His confession has you rolling over to face the ceiling. Suddenly you’re no longer tired and you wonder why that is. 

“You have friends to talk to.”

“We’re not as close as you think.” You can hear him shuffle in his bed, presumably to get more comfortable.

“Neither are we.” You debate but he knows that isn’t entirely true. If you really disliked him as much as you say you do you would’ve hung up on him the second you heard his voice. Yet you chose to sacrifice your sleep to keep him entertained and that told him everything he needed to know. 

“Fair, but I don’t like them as much as I like you.” Eunseok responds after a long period of silence. 

“You’re always saying weird stuff.” You try but fail to contain your smile. 

“I’m just being honest.” He says.

Choosing to ignore his indirect confession, you turn on your side and you can hear that he turns in his bed too. There’s another moment of isolated silence but it isn’t awkward. Hearing his slow breaths on the other line is quite calming.

You whisper, “Eunseok.” 

“Yeah.” 

“Can I ask you a question?” You ask

“Shoot.”

“How come you can’t find a real girlfriend?” 

For the next ten seconds he doesn’t say anything and you check the phone a few times to make sure he hasn’t hung up. “I haven’t found anyone that caught my eye.” Eunseok finally answers, but that’s far from the answer you were expecting.

“No one?” You ask. “I don’t believe that.” 

He laughs breathlessly against your ear, “Well how come you aren’t dating anyone?” He flips the question around.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed. But you’re the only weirdo willing to date me.” You giggle and expect him to do the same but it’s quiet on his end, except for the ruffling of sheets when he sits up on his elbows.

“You and I both know that’s not true.” He nearly scolds. “Sungchans been interested in you for a long time.” 

“Really?” You jump up. Somehow it makes sense when you think about it. The distant stares, the nonchalant attitude. You just wondered if Sungchan knew how scary he was when he was trying to flirt.

"Yeah," Eunseok sighs, "He was pretty pissed when he found out about us, but aside from him, I'm sure there were other guys who've asked you out."

You play with the closest thing to you, which happened to be the fluffy pink bunny Ningning brought you for your birthday a few years back. Humming as you think about the handful of boys that have asked you out on dates, you twirl the bunny's long ears absentmindedly, "No one that I was interested in." 

"So you're interested in me?" You can practically hear his smile when he speaks. 

"You're paying me. Plus, I wanted to see what was so great about the Song Eunseok." You tease. 

"And what have you learned?" He asks

"You're annoying, but you're not as bad as I thought you'd be." It goes silent again. Only the sounds of your wobbly ceiling fan and the noises from his background fill the room. After so much silence, you begin to bite your cheek in anticipation. Had he fallen asleep? You think to yourself.

"I'm glad you agreed to do this with me." He finally speaks, and you jerk your head towards the phone. "I like having you as my fake girlfriend." 

"You're always saying weird stuff." 

"You'll get used to it," Eunseok responds. The tone of his voice tells you he's most likely fighting to keep his eyes open, that is if he hasn't already given up trying and just let himself sink fully into the comfort of his bed. 

"You should get some sleep; we have class in the morning." You say just above a whisper, half afraid to disturb his sleep.

He mumbles, "Don't hang up." Which causes your lips to turn up against your pillow. 

"Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark." You say sarcastically. 

"I'm just not ready to end the call," He murmurs, his voice rough and drawn out. You wish you could succumb to sleep as easily as he does, but you're left with your face buried in the soft cotton pillow, eyes wide open, mind racing.

 If this was fake, why did it feel so real?

You utter, "We still aren't friends, Eunseok." But the only thing you get in response is a soft snore. 

Muffled coughs, dim lights, anxious tapping. There’s no place in the world you hate more than the library, yet here you were, head buried in your notebook, bouncing your leg up and down. 

“Mind if I sit here.” Eunseok appears out of nowhere, sliding into the seat right next to you before you can grant him permission.

“What are you doing, Eunseok?” You sigh, pushing your hair back. 

“You looked like you could use some company.” He whispers back, a smile spread upon his lips. “Don’t worry, I’ll stay quiet.” 

You suck in a deep breath and go back to focusing on your notes. Eunseok follows your lead, keeping as quiet as he promised he would. He stays so quiet you almost forget he’s there. 

His presence becomes known again when you feel stares coming your way. You can practically feel the heat of the gazes burning into the side of your face, occasionally looking up to lock eyes with a stranger or two. 

You ignored it at first. It's just a few sets of eyes on you, no big deal. Soon, it becomes too many eyes for you to bear. Mainly because you know why they're looking. You sit up in your seat and glare at the cause of your distraction.

"This isn't gonna work." You breathe. 

Cluelessly, he lifts his head from his laptop. "I didn't do anything." He frowns. 

"You didn't have to." You gesture your head towards the wandering eyes and hushed whispers. "They're not looking at me." 

"I can't help that." 

"I know you can't, but I really need to finish this essay, and I'd rather do it without people staring," you explain. Judging by the look on his face and the way he nods, you think he understands.

"I guess I'll just see you tonight then." 

"I told you not to show up at my apartment." You scold as he packs his stuff up. He doesn't say anything, and you know he's ignoring you on purpose. "Hey." You call out and catch when a smirk plays on the corner of his lips. 

“I’m serious, Eunseok, don’t stop by.” You half whisper, but it counts for nothing when he leans in to press a kiss to your cheek.

He’s gone before you could yell at him any further. You slouch in your seat and sigh as you check the notifications on your buzzing voice phone.

Sohee: Can’t make it tonight. Lea wants me to help her dog sit 

Ningning: You know, I’m starting to not like this new girlfriend of yours.

You: No worries, ningning and I will have enough fun for you. 

Ningning: We won’t?? I’m not third wheeling you and Eunseok.

You: Noo please, this is the one thing I look forward to every week. He won’t be there I promise. Don’t do this to me please. 

Ningning: Lie to me again. 

You: Fine, Eunseok and I will have enough fun for the both of you. 

You breathe in frustration right before you bury your head into your arms, biting your lip to stop from crying. Tears swelling up against your waterline as you sniffle. Two weeks without your weekly hangouts you were just inches away from losing it.

You sit contently in your apartment, alone. Lights from the television flash on the wall behind you. “I taught him how to talk now. He can talk now.” You quote along with the movie, followed by a laugh. 

You pause the movie and throw your legs over the couch when you hear a knock at the door. Assuming it’s the pizza you ordered, you open the door, but the man behind the door isn’t wearing a pizza delivery uniform, and he certainly doesn’t have your medium two-topping pizza in the palm of his hand.

“Eunseok.” You frown with disappointment. 

“Don’t be too excited to see me.” He sneaks in past you, taking notice of your empty apartment and the miscellaneous pieces of popcorn thrown around the front of your couch.

“Everyone canceled.” You mutter. 

"Perfect, so it's just us." 

"What are you doing here, Eunseok?" You turn to face him, arms crossed. "I'm sure there are better things for you to do right now."

"Maybe, but I'm already here, so I might as well stay." He pats your head. 

Just then, there's a knock at the door, and this time, you're certain it's the pizza you ordered half an hour ago. "I'll get it," Eunseok says before you get the chance to, and you save your breath because you know he's going to do what he wants no matter what you say. You watch as he strides to the door, his long legs eating up the distance. 

"I have a medium pepperoni and mushroom pizza for-" The delivery guy stops when he looks up to see who he's speaking to. "Song Eunseok?" He babbles, "No way, I'm a huge fan." 

"Are you?" Eunseok laughs, and you roll your eyes when you know he can't see you. "How much do I owe you?"

"Don't worry about it, man." The delivery pushes the pizza box into the palm of Eunseok's hand. "Enjoy it." He runs off, not giving Eunseok the opportunity to say anything else. 

The tall basketball player turns to you with an annoying grin budded on his lips. "We got free pizza." He holds up the box.

"I saw." You murmur nonchalantly, grabbing the box from his hands and striding towards your couch. You can practically feel Eunseok's breath on the back of your neck from how close he treads behind you. 

"Pepperoni and mushroom?" He questions, plopping down on the sofa right next to you. 

"I didn't expect any guests." You utter, with your mouth full. 

As the night continues, you end up with your head in Eunseok's lap, gazing up at him while he mindlessly dances his fingers around your skin. 

"How long have you been playing basketball?" You murmur, intertwining your hand with his. 

"Since middle school," he answers, "My dad wanted me to get out of the house more often, so he put me in basketball camp. From there, I just fell in love with it."

"Did you ever think you'd love it for so long?" You ask another question just to hear him talk.

"No, but I never imagined I'd fall out of love with it." 

"Do you ever get tired of playing? Or just lose motivation sometimes?" 

Eunseok nods, "I do sometimes, but then I feel guilty." He glances down at you, "It's become a part of me, and rejecting basketball feels like I'm rejecting myself."

"Wow?" You gasp in awe. "This is serious for you." 

"Yeah." He breathes, "very." You sit up halfway as he readjusts himself in the chair, and he gently pulls you back down once he feels comfortable again, clamping his hand around yours. "So what about you?" He utters.

"What about me?" 

"Tell me about yourself."

"There's nothing to tell." You murmur bashfully, "I'm just a nerd who loves the idea of outer space."

"Why?" Eunseok asks, watching you fondly as you think about how you're going to answer. 

"I like the idea of how big and vast it is, how much life it holds." You sigh, "It reminds me of how small I am. That's a comforting thought for me because I know that nothing really matters." You look back up towards him and catch the way he's looking down at you. Suddenly, you become hyper-aware of the position you're in. Ripping away from his lap, you rush to the opposite side of the couch and clear your throat. 

"But that's why I love Astronomy." You laugh nervously. "Are you thirsty by chance?" You ask, jumping up and running towards your kitchen. 

"Not really." Eunseok stands up on his feet to follow you. He leans against the wall while you slide back on your counter, sipping your soda and staring into thin air so you don't have to look at him. He's the first to break the thick layer of awkward silence you've single-handedly created in the room. "My brother's birthday is coming up in two weeks. He really wants you there." He treads closer to you.

"Does he really?" 

"My family likes you." He murmurs, "Everyone likes you." 

"Because they think I'm your girlfriend." You retort, and he slides closer.

"Because you're you." The compliment causes your breath to hitch, "There's no one like you." He adds, in a hushed tone. 

Looking down at the floor to avoid looking in his direction, You respond, "You're being weird again.". 

Eunseok couldn't explain his feelings about you because he knew you wouldn't listen. He thought if he showed you, you'd finally understand. He lifts your chin and dips his head down to press a chaste kiss against your lips. When you don't push him away like he half thought you would, he does again to test the waters. Yet you still don't do anything, so he tries it one more time; this time, it's more than just a simple peck. 

It starts off small and gradually grows deeper and feverish. You slide your arms around his neck and pull him down towards you. His lips are gentle against yours, just as you imagined they would. It feels so right to have his body pressed against yours, his large hands tugging at your waist, but it feels too good. It feels so good that you begin to feel guilty.

It only takes a slight push on his chest for him to break the kiss and look down on you through hooded eyelids.

“We shouldn’t do this. “ You breathe heavily. You’re so sure this isn’t what he wants. He’s just lost in the heat of the moment. You both are. But the way he looks at you makes you doubt yourself. You rest your head against his chest, sighing, “We can’t do this.” 

In the end, you were only trying to save your feelings.

“We don’t have to.” He sounds patting your back gently, and you hate it. You hate that he makes it so hard for you to hate him. He’s so tender and patient with you; you hate that you love it. 

“I think you need to go home before we end up doing something we both regret.” You mumble against his chest. 

“Why would I regret it?” he asks. You can feel the vibrations from his voice through his skin.

You lift your head to look at him, stuck on how to answer. “We-“ you open your mouth to speak, but you’re instantly cut off with a kiss.

“I’m exactly where I want to be.” He kisses you again.

Sooner than later, he has you caged in his arms, your legs wrapped around his waist while he carries you with ease. Maybe that was the perks of "dating" a basketball player. 

Slowly, he lays you on your bed. His lips only leave yours to pepper more kisses around your collarbone, trailing all the way down to below your waistline.

Your eyes shoot to the ceiling above you. You're far too shy to watch the other things he does to your body. He's gradually undressing you piece by piece until you are completely naked in front of him. While he remained fully clothed, this made you feel vulnerable and completely open to him. Not many other men could say they've seen you like this, but Eunseok could see all of you. The thought caused your entire body to shudder. Fortunately, he was there to ground you, his larger hands roaming the sheets to find yours as he made your skin heat up.

"Oh goodness, Eunseok." You mutter, biting on your lip.

"How was the dog sitting?" Ningning asks Sohee. You sense a bit of annoyance in her question, but you don't speak about it. 

"I don't wanna talk about it." Sohee deadpans.

Ningning shrugs, "Okay." and turns to you. "How was your weekend?" 

Instantly, you shake your head and look down at your food. "I don't wanna talk about it." Except Ningning doesn't let up on you as quickly as she did Sohee. 

"What happened?" She prods, and thankfully, Sohee steps in. 

"I'll tell you what happened!" He huffs. "Lea asks me to dog sit with her. I do, and then she gets mad at me for paying too much attention to the dog. It's called dog sit, not Lea sit." 

"Have you thought about just breaking up?" Ningning suggests. 

"Yeah, you guys seem to argue a lot." You join in, "which is understandable because you're an idiot, but not even Eunseok and I argue as much as you do. And I ha-"

You trail off when both of your friends stop to look at you. "Hate being away from him. It breaks my soul." You save yourself. 

"Exactly." Sohee pipes up, "The thought of breaking up with her kills me. I love her too much; she's crazy, but she's the only one for me. I'm certain."

"You've been dating for two weeks." Ningning grimaces, and you scoff at the conversation. 

"When you know. You know."

"Right…" The girl nods, shifting her attention towards you. "So, how about you?"

"Me?" You ask for confirmation. "I'm okay. In fact, I couldn't be better. I'm so okay that okay wants to be me."

"Did you and Eunseok get into a fight?" Ningning asks, reading right through your anxious demeanor.

"You didn't break up, did you?" Sohee asks. Almost as if he summoned him, Eunseok slides into the seat next to you. 

"Who's breaking up?" He asks before pressing a soft kiss on your cheek. 

Ningnings eyes remain on you, her eyes squinting as she reads your body language. How you jolt away from him, the awkward smile, the lack of physical touch.  Something's definitely up, and she wants to find out.

"How was your weekend?" She aims her question towards your boyfriend, resting her chin in her palm. 

"My weekend was amazing." He glances back at her. Mentally, you thank him for not making things too obvious, and Ningning curses him for that exact thing. 

"What made it so amazing?" She questions further.

"Um-" "He was able to knock some really important stuff off of his to-do list." You jump in to answer for him. 

Interesting. She thinks. "What was on your to-do list?" She asks.

"Wow, you're asking a lot of questions," He laughs awkwardly, oblivious to the way you're bouncing in anticipation, biting down on your lips until you think you taste blood.

"Yeah, what's with all the questions?" Sohee seconds. 

"I just wanna know the details." Ningning defends, "Unless you have something to hide." 

"We had sex." You blurt shamefully, tucking your head into the crook of Eunseoks neck to shield you from embarrassment. The pressure became too much for you to bear. 

She knew something was up, but she didn't expect to drag that information out of you. "Oh?" she gasps. 

"Me too." Sohee joins, burying his face in his hands. "And we did it in front of the dog." He confesses. You pull your head from Eunseoks shoulder to glare at your best friend. 

"In front of the dog?" You ask and he nods, his bottom lip poked out. 

"I'm not proud of it." 

"You're disgusting." Retorts Ningning, “All of you.” She points to Sohee, "but especially you."

If anyone asked, you'd tell them you were more than confident you could live without caffeine. But realistically, you knew that was a lie. Because you often had days like these where you'd spend all night cramming for a test and wake up a zombie the next day. 

Usually, you'd be responsible enough to make sure you had your credit card on you, but this particular time, you were running on forty minutes of sleep and a dream. 

"Oh, please." You beg the barista, with long copper blonde hair and a weak excuse for a goatee. "I'll do anything. Just this one time, no one has to know." 

The man shrugs carelessly, "There's nothing I can do." 

"Except there is," you whine. "Just this one time." You beg, but your efforts count for nothing as the employee begins to work on other tasks, ignoring you as if you weren't even there. You throw your head back and groan, stomping towards one of the seats and throwing your bag down. 

Not even ten seconds later, you hear someone else enter the cafe, but you don't care enough to lift your head from the palms of your hands. "Hey,' you hear a painfully familiar voice, and you imagine yourself vanishing in thin air.  

"Sorry, I can't talk right now, kinda busy." You mumble into your hands. 

"Doing what?" He chuckles, sliding into the chair in front of you.

"Contemplating suicide." 

"Woah." Sungchan pulls your hands from your face, forcing you to look at him. Close contact usually makes you freeze up, but you're preoccupied at the moment. "Don't talk like that."

"It's a joke." You roll your eyes. "I'm just super exhausted and have a super important test today. I left my wallet at home, and the barista won't give me one free pass, and I haven't had my weekly hang-out with my friends in three weeks." You throw your head down. "I'm gonna lose it, Sungchan, I'm gonna lose it."

"Would it make you feel better if I got you a coffee?" He asks, his hands still hooked around your wrists. 

You lift your chin to face him, eyes lighting up when you ask, "You'd do that? really?"

"It's just a coffee, it's nothing serious." His lips quirk into a bashful smile.

"It's very serious," You murmur, "My future career is on the line."

"Okay, just wait here. I'll be right back." He slips away for just a few minutes before he finds himself back where he started, right in front of you, this time with an iced coffee and a croissant.

"I figured you'd feel better if you had breakfast as well." 

"You're amazing, Sungchan. I owe you one."

"Consider it a favor. You're my teammate's girlfriend. It'd be wrong for me to just leave you here." He murmurs. You both stare at each other for a while. Each wanting to say something but not knowing how to say it or where to start.

Sungchan seems to find the words faster than you do. "I don't want things to be awkward between us." 

"We wouldn't be so awkward if you didn't scare me so much." You scold him, and he laughs. 

"I don't mean to. You just-" He pauses mid sentence.

"I what?" 

"You have to get to class Y/n." Sungchan stands up and places his palm on the center of your head. "You're going to be late." 

"What?" You ask, but he doesn't say anything else before he leaves the cafe, and you're left to try and figure out what just happened.

"Wow, this is a lot of children." You gasp at all six- and seven-year-olds running around Eunseok's family home. 

"It is a children's party." Eunseok remarks.

“Y/n.” Eunseoks little brother runs up to you, wrapping his arms around you when you squat down to meet him at eye level. "You're here."

"Of course." You smile to match his, unaware of the hurdle of children surrounding you until the young boy turns away from you. 

"This is my brother's girlfriend. Look how pretty she is." The boy gloats, and the others take turns showering you with compliments. 

"You have really cool hair." One kid shouts.

"You look like a rockstar." Says another.

"I wanna be like you when I grow up." The last kid speaks, and by now, your cheeks are red. Overwhelmed with compliments, you look up at Eunseok, expecting him to help you. 

He doesn't. He laughs with his arms crossed, amused to see how much the children look up to you. 

They remained huddled around you for a bit longer, each asking you questions and sharing pieces of information about themselves. However, once Mrs. Song called out that the piñata was ready, the kids disappeared from in front of you. 

Eunseok reaches out to help you, and you accept it. Tightening your lips into a line when you're grounded in front of him. 

"I told you everyone likes you." He smiles, interlocking his hands with yours. 

"I should've believed you." You say.

You didn't expect so much to change when you took Eunseok up on his offer. You didn't expect that the gym would be like your second home or that you'd care about basketball all of a sudden. You didn't expect to be standing here at a child's birthday party, being randomly showered with compliments ever so often. Or having one child after another tug on your wrist to join them in yet another activity. 

By the end of the party, you're exhausted, your feet hurt, and your cheeks are numb from smiling too much. Yet your lips remain turned up into a slight permanent smile.

"Looks like you had fun." Eunseok comments once you've reached your apartment door. You nod, and your smile grows.

"I did." You giggle. "Your parents really know how to throw a party."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." He says, swinging one of your arms back and forth. While you use the other to unlock your door.

"I'll see you tomorrow." You hum when the door is open, standing on your tippy toes to press a kiss to his cheek. "Goodnight Eunseok."

He tightens his hold on your hand before you can get too far from him, pulling you right back. You frown before you speak. 

"My feet hurt, I need to get to bed." You complain, looking down to your shoes. 

"I have a game coming up saturday." He says, fidgety. "I think I'll play better if I had my girlfriend there." 

You roll your eyes, a faint smirk tugging at your lips. You do a weak job of trying to contain the butterflies in your stomach. "I'm not your girlfriend." You laugh, but he's looking at you like he's still waiting for an answer. "If I'm not busy that day, I might stop by." 

You watch his smile grow, and his hand wraps tighter around yours. "Can I go to bed now?" 

"Yeah, of course." He leans down to press his lips against yours. "I'll see you on Saturday then."

"I said I'll think about it, Eunseok." You respond, but you know he isn't listening.

Saturday rolls around, and you find yourself back in the gym. Just as always, it's pretty filled, and you have to push through crowds of people to get to your seat. Ningning trails not too far behind you, both of her hands occupied with the hotdogs she couldn't get the last time. "These are pretty good seats." She says once she takes her seat beside you, both of you leave just enough space for Sohee. 

"Do you see him?" You ask, leaning against Ningning as you scan the area for Eunseok. She shakes her head, mumbling something with her mouth full, but you don't spend too much time trying to figure out what she's saying as your eyes land on the very boy you've been searching for. His back is turned towards you, but you know it's him because of the number thirty-nine that's displayed along the back of his jersey. You can't help the giddiness you feel when you see him. The best you can do is bite your lip, but it doesn't do much to contain your emotions. 

You watch him for a bit longer. Your eyes are trained on him as if he is the only person in the room, And when he turns around to face you, your heart skips a beat, "Oh, there he goes," Ningning nudges you with her elbow. Yet you're too focused on the basketball player in front of you to even register what she's saying. 

'Why didn't you tell me you were here?" Eunseok asks, already pressing a kiss on your lips,

"You seemed busy." You reply, "I didn't wanna interrupt you."

You look away when his coach yells for him, but Eunseoks eyes remain on you. "You're not gonna leave, right?" He asks, and you shake your head. 

"Wish me luck," Eunseok says last as he pulls you into another kiss. 

"Good luck." You hum loud enough for him to hear. You catch his smile before he backs away from you, swiftly making his way towards the floor before the game starts. You're left with a big grin on your face, oblivious to the way your friends watch you.

"What did I just watch?" Sohee asks, breaking you out of your trance.

"When did you get here?" You change the subject unintentionally.

"He got here a while ago." Ningning answers, "You were just too occupied to notice." 

You turn away in embarrassment, searching for anything to distract you. That's when your eyes land on another couple, "Is Lea coming?" You ask

"No, she said since she's not into Eunseok anymore, sports don't really entertain her." Sohee shrugs.

You and Ningning gasp, "Oh?" at the same time. 

"But it's been a while since the three of us hung out, so that's why I'm here." He continues, "Do you think she misses me?"

"Doesn't matter." Ningning shakes her head, "If she missed you that much, she'd be here with you." And just as she wraps up her sentence, Lea plops down right on Sohee's lap. 

"Great." Your friend sucks her teeth, glaring at you.

You watch Sohee's smile grow and see as they break off into their own conversation. Both of them forget that you and Ningning were even there. That's how it stays throughout the entire evening; the two of them remain wrapped up in eachother while you watch Eunseok on the floor.

Your eyes are stuck on his every move. It's almost magnetic. Every so often, his head would shoot up in your direction, and he'd lock eyes with you. 

When the game ends, you're the first person he looks for. A wide grin is evident on his face as he effortlessly lifts you in his arms and collapses his lips onto yours. For a second, it feels like it's just you and him, but you're harshly reminded of the crowd surrounding you when you hear his dad's voice. You scream and slide off of Eunseok, shielding your face in his chest. They proceed to have a short conversation, but you're too busy burying yourself in your own embarrassment to hear anything they're saying. 

You know the conversation is over when Mr Song squeezes your shoulder and wishes you a farewell. "He's gone," Eunseok whispers against your ear, but you only shake your head. 

"I want to die." You mutter against him, to which he simply laughs and wraps you into a bear hug. 

Eunseok quickly changes his clothes after telling your friends that he wants to be the one to take you home. Neither of them found an issue with it since Sohee wanted to stay with Lea, and Ningning had her Netflix series to catch up on. 

It's almost pitch dark. The wind blows through your hair as you walk towards your apartment, presumably. If it weren't for the fact that Eunseok was holding your hand, you would've already wrapped your arms around yourself to preserve your warmth. 

Without asking, Eunseok slips his hand from yours to wrap his jacket around. You let out a sigh of relief at the newfound warmth, but that's when you realize this isn't the way to your apartment.

"Where are we going?" You ask, halting as you look around.

"There's a party-"Eunseok begins to explain.

"I don't want to go to a party. I wanna go home." You whine. He pulls you closer when you attempt to pull away from him.

"I'll pay you." He bribes you, but you shake your head. 

"That's not gonna work this time." You try once again to back away, and just as before, he pulls you right back. Only this time, he wraps his arms around you.

"Then do it for me. I just made it through the finals, and as my girlfriend, I think you should reward me."

"Pretend, girlfriend." You correct him, "I don't owe you anything."

"Actually, you do; it's your duty to appear as my real girlfriend." His growing smile sends shivers down your spine, "What will people think if I show up alone?"

"Whatever they want." You shrug, "It's not my reputation at stake." 

"You're so stubborn." He laughs, pulling you along with him. 

The "party" could be classified as a hangout. Most of Eunseoks' teammates are there, including Seunghan, Shotaro, Anton, and a few other people you've seen around campus. Despite the low crowd, you still cling to Eunseok. He doesn't seem to mind it as he wraps his arm around your shoulder, holding you closer than you already were. 

The music was just a few notches below what you'd consider too loud, and surprisingly, it didn't smell like sweat and alcohol. On the contrary, the scent of the room was quite pleasant. As Eunseok converses with some of his friends, your eyes wander around the space. You notice the seventies-inspired decor, the record player tucked in the corner, and a life-sized sculpture of the school mascot standing beside it. But It's the pool table that catches your eye. 

You turn away from Eunseok as you watch the crowd surrounding the table. Each of them places a twenty dollar bill on the stool beside the table before they start the game, and you can't help but watch, knowing that you'd win if you were given the opportunity.

The players are in their element, the cue sticks gliding like silk in their hands as they aim for the vibrant balls on the table. The sharp crack of the cue ball against the others reverberates through the room as precise shots are made, and the players exchange confident smiles and spirited banter. 

The anticipation in the air is palpable as the game reaches a crucial point. The onlookers lean in their expressions, reflecting the tension of the game. As you watch, you feel the excitement building, imagining yourself stepping up to the table, calculating angles, and planning your shots with precision. 

As the game draws to a close, the victorious player triumphantly pockets the final ball, claiming the prize money. The room erupts to cheers and applause. "Do you wanna play?" Eunseoks voice breaks you out of your trance. You blink up at him and shake your head, but he can see right through you.

Swiftly he pulls you along to the table, and sits a twenty dollar bill on the stool. "You'll do great" he says followed by a kiss to your temple. Eunseok slides his hand out of yours, and backs away from you.

You gingerly picked up the cue stick, feeling the smooth wooden surface in your hand, and carefully applied chalk to its tip. Your eyes surveyed the arrangement of colorful balls, already visualizing each shot in your mind. With a sense of determination, you leaned over the table, your gaze fixed on the target. The world around you seemed to slow down as you prepared to take your shot, your mind calculating the angles and forces needed for a successful strike.

Taking a deep breath, you executed your shot with precision and finesse. The cue ball glided across the felt, expertly striking the others in a harmonious dance as the balls ricocheted off one another, following the calculated path you had envisioned. 

The game progressed with a steady rhythm, the players engaging in friendly banter and playful teasing as they vied for dominance. Every successful shot garnered a mix of applause and good natured ribbing, enhancing the camaraderie and a sense of shared enjoyment. The room was filled with warmth of shared fun and spirit of healthy competition. 

You step up when it becomes your turn again, lifting your stick and sliding down the table just centimeters before the cue ball. You take your shot. The satisfying thud as it made contact with the colored balls echoed through your ears. Your hands flew up when the last ball found its pocket. 

The first person you look for is Eunseok. You throw your arms around him, and he wraps his around your waist, hoisting you into the air. When you slide off of him, he holds your hand open to place the prize money in the center of your palm. "It's all yours." He murmurs. 

You scoff playfully, trying your best to suppress a smile. "You're so cute." 

"We're still not friends." You blurt. 

Eunseok grins, "I thought that was obvious," he says. "I mean, friends don't do what we did." 

He's amused with how your cheeks flush red and how speechless you've become. You don't even bother trying to come up with some snarky remark. Instead, you mutter, "Shut up." and Eunseok laughs. 

The sound of basketballs bouncing against the waxed floor meets your ears the second you walk into the gym. You smile softly when you catch sight of Eunseok. You throw your bag off to the side and take a seat, watching as he bounces the ball around before he takes his shot. That pattern continues a few more times before you make a noise to let him know you're there. 

Eunseok turns around immediately, an involuntary smile approaching his face. He runs over to you with the basketball in his hand. He's sweaty, and his hair is stuck to his forehead, but none of it bothers you. You still grin when he approaches you.

"Why did you call me here?" you ask teasingly.

He doesn't answer your question at first; he just kisses you, and you kiss him back. "If I make this, you have to let me be your boyfriend." He says, and you can't help but smile.

You don't get to say anything before he's running away from you and towards the court. He bounces the ball longer than he should, and just when he goes to shoot, he misses. You giggle to yourself but bite your lip when he turns to look at you. You get up, walk towards him, and wrap your arms around his abdomen, "You don't need to shoot a basketball to ask me to be your girlfriend, weirdo."

"I thought it'd be less embarrassing to miss than it would be for you to reject me." He says, defeated.

"Who said I would reject you?" 

You watch his eyes light up right before he leans down to kiss you, wrapping his arms around your waist and sweeping you off your feet. 

[sylusjinwoon]

{ 132 }

crush, crush, crush.

megumi fushiguro x fem.reader

no curses | college au.

{ and i'm like, yeah | everything you heard is true | everybody knows i'm hung up on you. }

much like half of the female population of students that attended this university, you had a crush on megumi fushiguro.

something about him was just so appealing to you (and many others). from his deep, emerald green eyes to the way his spiked hair fell across his pale face.

his full lips were often seen set in a permanent scowl, indicating his absolute disdain for something-

and his deep voice was painted in nonchalant tones, as if nothing in the world could ever bother him-

but it was enough to fuel your desire to get closer to him.

being somewhat of a smart cookie, you ended up sharing quite a few classes with the enigmatic megumi. from ethics to advanced calculus, you were honestly just happy enough to be in his presence.

because you knew that the chances of megumi returning your feelings were slim to none, that didn't stop you from doing something a little silly (and quite stupid, really) to get closer to him.

in your advanced calculus class, you purposely failed a sequence of pop quizzes, each and every one of them serving to be like a test drive before the real deal: the first exam worth nearly 20% of your final grade.

your professor, feeling exasperated on your depressingly low averages, finally decided to enlist the help of the student who consistently scored a 100% on every assignment and pop quiz-

megumi.

she calls you to the front of her desk while stopping megumi from leaving the classroom. megumi's eyes were furrowed in confusion, and you did your best to put on a sad face, jutting your lips out in a disappointed pout and all.

"fushiguro, you're one of the best students in my class- actually, you're the only one who has ever had consistently high scores on my homework and quizzes."

your professor gestures over to you, all while saying your name with a disappointed sigh. "she needs your help. her scores have been embarrassingly low, and i'm afraid if this continues, she will not have a chance to pass this class and may need a retake. so please, when it's still early in the semester, can you help her?"

you take this chance to meet with megumi's gaze, seeing them flash with an unknown emotion for a brief moment before returning back to his blank, emotionless gaze. he places a hand within the pocket of his jeans, looking away from you to see each one of your written quizzes spread out against your professor's desk.

you had to fight back the heat against your cheek when his bored, emerald gaze looked at the 0's written in a deep red ink, the anger and disappointment your teacher felt for you seeming to create a harsh dent, with each bold x seen scattered across the problems on the papers, nearly ripping through each sheet.

"so, as you can see, i don't wish for this student to be a hopeless case. if things go well, the highest grade she can make is a 70. but... i'll allow it if you can help her."

without another word needing to be spoken, megumi gives the professor a stiff nod before collecting your quizzes together in a single, neat stack. he meets with your gaze and says a simple "follow me." before walking out of the classroom.

and despite how you could feel your heart pounding from within your chest, you kept your cool and followed megumi from close behind. you continue to walk in silence for several seconds when he turns around to face you, seeing you standing behind him while letting out a sound of annoyance.

"don't walk behind me like i'm better than you." he gently grabs a hold of your wrist so that you were now walking right next to him. "i hate that shit. we're in the same year, so act like it."

the way your heart suddenly jumped into your throat was enough to make you feel dizzy, and the fact that megumi didn't show any hints of letting you go made it all the more overwhelming for you.

with his hand loosely gripping at your wrist, he leads you to your university's library, the silence was once deafening as you thought that your ears were close to ringing-

but the moment several students laid eyes on megumi holding your hand, you felt all eyes turn on you. their studying all but forgotten as whispers and giggles were heard throughout. seemingly unbothered by the sudden change, he keeps holding on to your wrist before going towards one of the hallways that held several study rooms. the first empty room he finds, he enters it while shutting the door.

in the middle of the room was a large, square table with four seats surrounding it. megumi takes an extra seat and settles it on the same side as him, silently gesturing at you to sit to his left. you nod and heed his words, feeling somewhat shy as you took out a fresh notebook along with some pencils and pens from your backpack.

megumi settles himself beside you and takes out his notebook. as you trail your eyes over those meticulous pages, you saw just how much care and detail he put within them, the black ink seeming to bleed through each page as evidence of his dedication.

he takes one of your quizzes and points to each concept you missed within his notes, and you found yourself following along quite well. you end up completely correcting your errors within 20 minutes, and was simply basking in megumi's presence when a deep chuckle was heard.

"heh, i knew you were suspicious..." megumi had placed his lips against the shell of your ear, tone dripping with an uncharacteristic amusement. the feeling of his hot breath against your ear was enough to make you shiver in response, your wary gaze meeting with his.

"ah... i... don't know what you mean?"

he gives you a scoff, telling you that he didn't believe your bluff for a single minute while shutting his notebook. "you know, professor irie has told me to tutor some of her other students in different classes several times. and i can't tell you how we often spent two hours working on a single problem."

"yet you... you corrected each and every one of your mistakes, redoing all 10 problems and giving me the correct answer within a mere 20 minutes."

you were frozen, eyes going wide, as if you were a deer caught in headlights. a smirk was seen gracing megumi's handsome features when you could feel his large hand against your back, pushing you forward so that you could see your past quizzes. he spreads out each and every one of the pages that averaged a 0, taking his signature black pen as he filled them all in with 100's.

"it takes a different type of genius to purposely choose wrong answers, so tell me... why?"

you begin to blush profusely, unable to meet his gaze as you felt your heart pounding faster with anxiety, nearly coming out of your ribcage. you lost all nerve, unable to even look at him when you shakily manage to tell him.

"i-i think you know why."

"i do, but i'd much rather hear it from you."

you could feel his gentle hands rubbing against your cheek, making you sigh as you relented.

"i-i did it so that i could be closer to you...because i know that you wouldn't notice me otherwise."

"and who says i didn't notice you?"

you gasp upon feeling megumi take a hold of your chin, forcing you to face him as his eyes were shining with a look akin to... adoration for you. he allows the pad of his thumb to trace at your bottom lip before admitting to you, "i've seen the truth of your studious nature and your hard work. and those glances you've been sneaking at me when you thought i wasn't looking... so how could i possibly ignore your presence so easily?"

you watch when he slowly narrows his gaze, suddenly inching himself closer to you as you could taste his breath against your lips, giving you little choice but to cave in to your feelings for him as you met with him halfway.

and as his lips perfectly slot themselves against yours in a perfect kiss, you found yourself sighing, thinking to yourself that failing a few quizzes was completely worth it in the end.

all stories are written by rei; reposts, translations, and plagiarism are not allowed.

[yuellii]

baby, we’re the new romantics !

𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇 some born-rich, noisy man falls for a completely normal ( maybe struggling ) woman

feat. childe, referred to as ajax

wc. 2.7k

note. gn reader, modern au, references a scene from I Love Yoo, this is a little birthday fic for one of my very best friends in the whole wide world : @vivinens !!

To put it bluntly, it sucked working at McDonald’s.

Other than the fast-paced environment and the tough remarks from rude customers, what arguably sucked the most was that he worked in the building just across the street. Literally just a few steps and you’d be at risk of seeing him.

It wasn’t that you hated Ajax ( okay, maybe you did a little ); he was a fun way to wind down in-between classes sometimes at university because of his loud personality. And, he was attractive to stand next to, you’ll give him that in addition to being a very understanding friend. But seeing him in the workplace is quite possibly the last thing you could ever want to ask for.

What made matters even worse was during your desperate job search last month, when you got a recruitment offer at the place he worked at. You thought it’d be some small thing like where generic college students worked, not some big multi-million firm in this massive building with workers walking around in suits and pencil skirts galore. And of course, when you met with the mean recruiting lady named Rosalyne for your interview, it was impossible not to spot Ajax at the corner of your eyes with a goofy smile on his face.

And when Ms. Rosalyne went back to scold him after your interview, it was more than obvious you were only here because he pushed your application.

How embarrassing.

“You can try again!” he said to you in good spirits in the university courtyard one week after. The two of you were sitting together as the sun was setting on campus, having both finished all your classes for the day. “They’re opening another clerical position soon since our current one is leaving, apply then!” And to you, he was acting all completely normal in his normal young-adult way, meanwhile you were trying to erase the image of him in a suit from your head.

You sighed, “I don’t think the high-class life of business is for me yet, Ajax.”

The roll of your eyes caused him to visibly deflate. Just how obsessed was he with the idea of you getting hired? “But I want you to work with you so baddd…!” he groaned, dramatically shoving his hands onto his face.Then he leaned back forward, slumping until his forehead came down to rest on your shoulder. Such an attention-grabbing act of depression—you almost came to entertain the idea, too.

“I don’t even have office clothes,” you scoffed, bumping him off your shoulder.

He yelped from the force of your push for a moment before he grabbed your arm, pulling it so harshly with such a force that had you clashing right onto his chest ( Yeah, friends, or something like that ). And even as you began to punch on his chest in protest, he just hugged you tight and whined, “I can buy you some! You’ll fit right in—and I get to see you every day at school and at work!”

Seeing him every day sounded like hell, you were so sure this man was insane.

“You are not buying me office clothes!” you denied, still trying to push yourself away.

“I can totally afford it, though!” he pouted. After he relaxed his grip around your body, you still found it too tough to escape his weird embrace. That’s your karma for being friends with the guy who goes to the gym in-between classes, you suppose. And after more struggling to set yourself free, you eventually gave up as the sunset reduced to silence.

That was when he squeezed you tight once more for a last makeshift hug, then planted an ambiguously-friendly kiss on your cheek as he said, “Let’s go get dinner now? I’ll drive.”

“Yeah, sure. Can we get chicken nuggets?”

He lifted both of your bodies up to your feet, watching as you collected your things off the seat before he led you by the hand to his car. “Pff, you always want nuggets,” he teased. “But yeah, I’m down—there’s a McDonald’s right next to my work, let’s go there while I try to convince you to apply at my job!”

And now you work at said McDonald’s.

You didn’t tell him, of course. Only that you “finally got a job,” so that he could finally stop trying to get you hired at his stuffy building space.

It was pretty busy in the morning when people in office attire would come in for a quick, cheap coffee. Lunch and dinner time was also busy as expected—it was one of the things that made you happy to be a cashier and not one of the cooks or drive-through people.

And the best part about this was that you never saw the uptight Ms. Recruiter Rosalyne here, nor Ajax himself. You knew for a fact that Ajax only went to McDonald’s when it was with you, as he preferred other fast foods, so even if his work was just right there, you really didn’t have to worry about accidentally seeing him. If you did… Well, that would probably be really embarrassing, wouldn’t it?

It was one o’clock in the afternoon, lunch rush.

People were rude, your coworkers were irritable, customers were in a rush—horrible, really, but also a normal day for you. Just smile and put on that customer service voice and it will soon be over. Plus, you got free chicken nuggets for your own lunch break before this.

It was not until you felt your phone vibrate in the pocket of your jeans. Well. It was not that common to get a text like that. Your family should know you’re at work; your friends, too. Just one peak—only one, just while the customer in front of you is still holding up the line while he decides what to order. Propping your phone up behind the register, you open it to check your lockscreen.

orange fuckwad: heyyy you want some mcds nuggets?!?!? ;)

Holy shit. Absolutely not.

“Can I order the uhhh…” Oh good lord you have to turn off your phone now. “Can I order the uhhh McLobster?”

“Sorry sir, the McLobster was discontinued five years ago.” You were about to blow your brains out.

“No I swear I just ordered it last week?”

Your eyes kept shifting to the door. And there, finally, in all his glory making your heart absolutely drop in fear, was Ajax coming through the door. And for you, too—to buy you a box of chicken nuggets. In any other case, you’d find it endearing ( and it still was! ) but in this instance you really wanted to die right now.

The customer suddenly raised an eyebrow at you when you shifted your body to the side, trying to use his body as a shield from the eyes of your friend. There was a second cashier next to you—hopefully Ajax will line up on their line instead of yours. And hopefully, you could use this crusty McDonald’s hat to hide your face.

“Hey!” your coworker suddenly called out to you. You looked towards their empty cashier line with a glimmer of hope for good news. “I’m going on my lunch!” Your face dropped. “I’ll see you in 30, yeah?”

No! Not yeah! But you couldn’t do anything but plead with your facial expression as they left to the backroom, leaving Ajax with no choice but to join your line. If you could blow up this whole building right now, God, you would.

Five customers until him, four customers until him, three, two, one—

“Woah!” The surprise on his face felt insulting. Actually, you still used the hat to hide your face as best as you could. It was failing at hiding your identity from him as expected, but at least it helped you obscure the view of his… physique. Him, with his… um, his black slacks and white collared shirt that was just a little too tight on him, and his grey blazer that was thrown over his shoulder. One button at the top unfastened, almost as if he loosened it just to breathe during his lunch break.

And his hair, if you didn’t want to meet his eyes then you were honestly staring there. Whose hair was usually messy and tousled, now slicked perfectly for once with gel, all in a proper yet still very Ajax-way. The sides were in place, meanwhile strands over his eyes and at the top of his hair remained loose in that messy way that still characterized him. God, you might just die from embarrassment and awkwardness right now.

“This is where you work?” he asked, incredulously.

“Good afternoon, sir. What can I get for you today?” you smiled. Please, please just go with it.

He looked surprised at your voice, especially since it was so fabricated and one he had not heard before. You just hoped he wouldn’t be a dumb prick to you today, just this once. “Oh, um…” Please, please. “One ten-piece chicken nugget, please.” Thank God.

“Would you like a drink with that?”

“Yes, one large soda, if that’s okay?”

“Will that be all?”

“Uh.” He looked confused. You just stared at him. “Yeah… Yeah, I think so.”

Then he swiped his card, you directed him to the side, and he left the line. With a lingering gaze, of course. He looked like a lost ( and maybe even a little hurt ) puppy after his order, and as much as this made you feel sad for him, you were just glad to get through with him as a customer without any complications. He’ll definitely be bothering you after this, anyways.

He pretty much watched you the entire time he waited for his food, eyeing you with a look of concern that did not belong on his usual expression. But you ignored him for your own betterment—you’d really just rather get through this rush hour of customers. And when his order number was finally called, he held the small bag with nuggets and his large soda with confusion. Oh, right. That food was probably bought for you.

You sent him a look and a head tilt that notioned ‘Just eat it’, and surprisingly, he got it. Ajax, with his pristine proper suit and blazer over his shoulder, sat down at a dirty barstool and ate his ten-piece chicken nuggets. He was still watching you, though; he glanced at you every few seconds while he was chewing. Minutes that felt so long passed, and you just hoped his lunch break would end soon so he could get back to his building.

“Hello again!” You almost jumped in place when you found him in front of you again, having finished his nuggets.

“Ajax,” you grumbled, trying to speak quietly. There was another customer coming to line up behind him. “I can’t talk during my shift.”

“Oh!” He looked at you in innocent surprise for a second, definitely not as depressed as earlier. “No, I was just gonna order.”

You wanted to die. “Didn’t you already…” Clearing your throat, you remembered there was another customer lined up behind him. Thank heavens the lunch rush was over already. Time to put on the customer service voice for him again. “What can I get for you?”

“A box of ten-piece chicken nuggets, please!” he smiled. “And a large soda!”

If you didn’t feel like killing him before, well you certainly did now. And guess what, he ate this order, too! Was he doing this out of spite now? Ordering nuggets and then eating them right in front of you? Because honestly, it was making you less hungry and more confused, if anything. This was definitely not what you expected—but then again, you fully anticipated he’d hold up the line just to talk to you. But no, suddenly he was a McDonald’s nugget fan?

The moment you get out of here, you’re going to twist his ear. Time passes again where you purposely avoid his gaze. So, so much time. Either his lunch break was just incredibly long, or time was just going so slow because he was here. You bet it was the latter.

And then, once again, you find him at the front of your line.

“Hello!” he smiled. He looks happy just to see you. “Can I get a ten-piece box of chicken nuggets?”

“And a large soda with that?” you asked, almost with a sigh.

He looks uneasy, standing to the tips of his toes for a moment. “No,” he drags out with hesitance. “Side of large fries, actually.”

Ooo, how different! It’s the most entertainment you could wish for in a day. And when you shoo him to the side this time, he has the biggest smile on his face. How unusual—in this situation, at least. Then when his order comes, he actually turns to leave this time. He walked to the glass doors with an innocent grin and a large McDonald’s bag in his hand, happily waving to you goodbye. Finally.

“You never told me you work at the McDonald’s right by me!”

He was there waiting for you when you walked out of your shift, packed up, ready to go home, and definitely smelling like grease. “Well aren’t you out early…” you sighed at him. “It’s only three in the afternoon.”

“I asked if I could leave so I could come see you sooner,” he frowned. Endearing, once again. And your heart may have skipped just a bit when he lifted up the last brown bag he bought. “I saved these for you. They’re not warm anymore but there’s fries, a soda, and fifteen nuggets… I, uh, couldn’t finish the second order.”

You nearly laughed out. “Why in the world did you order so much anyways?”

“So I could see you again,” he pouted.

He was still wearing his office attire, top button unfastened once again and blazer under his arm once you took the fast food bad again. You might’ve just had nuggets during your lunch break, and this food may be cold and soggy by now, but the thought of him buying it for you made it the best meal in the world. And, it was also the fact he left his own shift early just to see you. He could be nice at times; so nice, it almost comforted the fact he made you want to die earlier.

“You embarrassed me,” you tiredly sighed. The both of you were walking together to his car—how he knew you were dropped off here was beyond you.

“Sorry!” he sheepishly smiled. “I really didn’t think I’d see you there…” Which was understandable, sure, but did he really have to order that many McNuggets just to see you at the cashier stand? “But now that I know you work right next to me…”

“Ajax, no.”

“Oh come on!” He pouted with a considerably loud whine while the both of you crossed the street to his building. You figured he was likely parked behind it, wherever the employee parking was. It still felt a little weird to be in your McDonald’s uniform walking next to a big business building. “I get to see you every lunch break—doesn’t that sound so fun?”

“No not really.”

He groaned even louder again, slumping his shoulders as if he was not dressed like he was going to an office party right now. But then, in some sort of comforting silence, he aligned his arm over your shoulders. It was cute, honestly—how he would still do this despite the fact you smelled like pure grease right now ( and the fact you were trying to ignore the feeling of his arm muscles that were practically bursting through his sleeves ).

He eyed you a few times during this silent walk, watching as you stuffed your face with nuggets and fries. Holy God this tasted so good for some reason…?! You totally deserved this after your shift of rude customers and embarrassing moments—then your good friend Ajax brings you nuggets and fries right after. How romantic.

And speaking of your ‘friend’, he pulled you closer against him, arm practically swallowing your entire being over your shoulders. Not that you were complaining, though; you found his weird obsession with being near you all the time just a little bit cute. And besides, he drove you places, and he bought you chicken nuggets.

Who could not love a man that buys you chicken nuggets?

[bvbblywhims]

𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐍𝐓

✿ PAIR: ʀɪᴅᴅʟᴇ ʀᴏsᴇʜᴇᴀʀᴛs x ʜɪʟɪsᴇ ɪɴᴏᴀᴅᴇɴ! ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

✿ WARNING: violence??

I was blowing off on a whim after I read Solitary Lady. Sad the manhwa seems rushed though. My bad (⁠•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;⁠).

𝙵𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝙿𝙾𝚅

"Those who cannot abide by my decisions deserve not the heads they use to complain..."

If the past me was told that I would be free from the chains of eternity after collecting the fragments, even they would have had their doubts.

Yet, I'm still here, forced into a coffin with a talking raccoon and summoned to another world called Twisted Wonderland. I was dressed in robes made for a cult then taken in by a crooked crow of a Headmaster of Night Raven College, a school full of males after things got "heated up" at the opening school ceremony.

Literally.

To think I would see boys that wielded possibly powerful magic run around mindlessly from the a raccoon that blows fire as if they were chickens with their heads cut off.

But day by day, I looked back remembering what that mirror told me after I stepped forward. I never thought t would ever find a talking inanimate object trembling with an expression of fear as I stared it down.

"...The nature of her soul is silent. Colorless. Soundless. There's a light that's dull, darkness yet has no shadow."

"A figure that shouldn't even exist to begin with."

The Dark Mirror wasn't wrong. After experiencing eight lives of misery of having a miserable family, and an endless journey to find rest, I wasn't meant to exist after all. Yet, I was given the power to reshape the world to my desires by the last King before he disappeared and I tried to find my place.

"Worry not, the Dark Mirror will see you safely home." Crowley, the Headmage said.

"Why would it matter? After all, I don't have a home to return to."

So why am I still here? Do the other gods tend to make me their toy? Watch me spill blood and sweat more tears just for entertainment as if this was a play? Wander again just for their pure satisfaction?

The hatred I look back from my predecessor as she killed the King, handing me her sins as I became bound to a world of immortality.

'Why do the gods always find a way to become my obstacle from finding my paradise?' I gritted my teeth biting my finger as I got settled in the abandoned Ramshackle dorm. My cursed powers of spring have returned again with the flower vines began to unconsciously climb the walls, clinging and spreading their tendrils to every surface it could find as the pink buds gracefully bloomed.

"No one must know...."

"Henchman, are you ok....?" Grim, the flaming feline that became my companion asked quietly.

I glanced at him, who stared right back at me with the familiar shaky expression of fear causing my thoughts to be put on pause. I was silent for a few seconds before sighing and walked towards him to gently give him a hug.

"I'm sorry, a lot of things have been on my mind lately....."

"...Whatever, it's not as if I was worried or anything."

I smiled.

What a liar.

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

A being with no more purpose as I began my wandering again. At least I was supposed to be with my feline companion as I did odd work here and there for the Headmage.

Yet, after the adventures of a charred statue, and fixing a magical chandelier with two peculiar first year students who were part of the trouble, Ace and Deuce from the Heartslabyul dorm, I look at them now and quietly smile.

Perhaps, life may be more tolerable.

At least I thought before encountering a problem regarding strange traditions in their dorm and a simple matter of a specific restricted tart brought by Ace to a tradition they call an "Unbirthday Party" after he ate a slice of tart after their cave escapades.

"OFF WITH YOUR HEADS!"

Riddle Rosehearts.

Ah yes. He possesses magic that could seal other people's magic to which I learned was the same as cutting off a person's head, according to Ace which intrigued me.

The Heartslabyul Prefect who follows the rules of the Queen of Hearts. A second year housewarden with a firm hand but was so uptight with such strange rules. It seemed there was a background from what we gathered from Trey the Vice-Housewarden who was surprisingly his childhood friend.

A guy with mommy issues. How lovely.

I was curious about the odd rules after specific amounts of sugar cubes added to lemon tea, painting roses red, restrictions of eating a hamburger on a Tuesday so I went investigating, sneaking into the library at night for the official rule book of the dorm, flipping through 810 rules.

Even I would criticize that it was over the top.

Which brings me now to the current circumstances as the two simpletons, Ace and Deuce, dueling the housewarden who simply flicked his wand to seal their magic again from their previous shenanigans.

I had a bad feeling something was going to happen.

Especially with that premonition I had that night.

"Hmph. You didn't even last five seconds." A small smirk formed in Riddle's lips. "That was all you had, and still you thought to challenge me? You must be utterly humiliated. I guess my mother was right. A man who cannot follow rules is a man who cannot achieve anything."

Drip, Drip.....

"Hm...." Something irritating has been gnawing at them.

"Are you faring well, [Y]?" Crowley questions their unusual demeanor.

"It's nothing, just simply can't see. I'll be at the other side...." I muttered, walking to the other side to see the view properly with Grim following behind.

Deuce argued. "Tch... We agree that rules should be followed. But forcing others to follow nonsensical rules like the ones you've enacted is tyranny!"

"Then you agree that breaking rules is wrong. And in this dorm, I AM the rules." The Heartslabyul Prefect asserted. "Therefore, those who cannot abide by my decisions deserve not the heads they use to complain!"

"Rules are meant to be followed. However, too much control destroys all respect on authority."

Why do I feel so irritated ever since gaining information from Trey?

"Too much grip turns them into rebels."

"Clearly, you were born to parents with no great magical capability. I have to wonder what sort of pitiful education left you unable to comprehend so simple a concept."

'How dare he.....'

Deuce gritted his teeth, the veins of his fists bulging from the amount of pressure he was putting into clenching his hands. "You little...."

It started with a small crack in the ground. Tendrils of thorny vines began to crept up slowly from within the soul. Their mind was blurry, as they paid no mind to the punch Ace gave to Riddle, their voices only seeming to be ringing in their ear as they talked about how he was to blame for his tyranny. Grim jumped at the sight of them turning his head to look at his companion's face the same murderous look they held that night only now it was pointed to the red-headed tyrant of a dormleader.

He was scared. Scared for her and for him.

"Myah, [Y], [Y]...." Grim kept pulling on one of their uniform socks only to get no response in return.

W̷͇̜͚̃̈͜h̴̼̳͋̍͌ͅͅä̴͎̼͖́t̵̢͔̝̥͆͝ ̷͍̼̗̄͜ẅ̶̤́̀̑̂o̵͈̟̓u̷̱̯̯̇̎̆ḻ̴͈͔͌d̶̟̝̜͂̈́ ̸̟̮̝̒́͜ḣ̴̥̳͕̱͐̈͝ẹ̶́̎ ̷̘̪̎͜k̶̙̹̭͐̚͝n̸̬̜͇̏͋o̵̖̫̰͒̒̑̀w̶̼͆̌́̕ ̶̨̦̫̈́͂a̷͚̥͐̐b̸̧̞͖̝̄́̈́o̷̥̕ͅu̷̪̓t̷̛̬̻̘̏ ̸̦̟͓̚h̴͌ͅõ̴̠̼̮̚ẇ̴͙̿̎ ̵̧͉̿I̸͈̘̺͑̅̕ͅ'̵͎̔̽ṽ̵̱̩̮͝e̶̛̤͎͗͜͝ ̶̺͉̙̾̐̾͘l̵̬̄̈̈i̶̖̇v̷̫͇͓́e̵̠̐͊̌͝d̶̡͖̈́.̷̖̥̫̱̇̔.̶̗̣̥̻̀.̷̧̼̞̠͂̓.̴͕̭͓̋͠'̸̻̰̣̩͒͘

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

"I'M the one who's right! There is NO! POSSIBLE! ALTERNATIVE!"

"Riddle stop!" Trey cried out.

"Drip, Drip...."

"That sound....." I murmured.

I watched as the dormleader begin his descent to madness. A dark aura emerges from him as ink blots begin to stain and cover him whole given his overuse of magic. Black ink corrupted him transforming his pristine appearance into something berserk as a monster similar to what I saw in the mines followed from behind.

"Tch...." Something was still itching at me.

'Am I supposed to pity him for his actions or something.....?'

"All who defy me will lose all their heads!" Riddle laughed insanely. "Ah ha ha ha ha!"

'What a useless Headmaster this college has....' I sighed in annoyance as he cried about how he could let someone Overblot in front of him, basically a consequence of over usage of magic that may lead to death if continues to use it at that state. The only good thing that Headmage was useful for was that magic barrier he put up before letting the rose trees hit us.

"What's that smell...."

"Now's not the time—....Ooh, I smell it too...." A few students on the ground were whispering as a scent of flowers filled the atmosphere.

"[Y], is that scent....coming from you....?" Deuce asked hesitantly.

"Headmage."

The said man flinched at their hard tone as they glanced at him.

"Assist the students back to the Mirror Chamber." I stepped forward with a neutral expression. "Many are injured."

"Um, hello?! 911? We've got an idiot emergency!" Cater exclaimed at the absurd statement.

"You DID hear that part about how reeeal bad things are happenin' with him, right?!" Grim argues with Cater.

"That's why we need to stop him now! I don't want that in my conscience!" Deuce backs him up.

Ace scowled. "And I'm not givin' up till I hear him say "I was wrong and I'm sorry.".

"You...." Trey sighed. "All right, let's do this. I can overwrite his magic for a little longer. In the meantime, do what you can! Headmage, please evacuate the other students!"

"Crowley, go." I urged him. "I'll handle from here."

"I don't want to lose him. There're too many things I've left unsaid." Trey murmured.

"Ngh... I'll be back as soon as I've gotten the students to safety. Stand firm until then!" The Headmage rushes towards the other Heartslabyul members to evacuate them out of their dorm.

"Such defiance, from every last one of you! I shall take all of your heads!" Riddle swung his arm, arrows of blot forming and firing at them.

Flower vines sprung from the ground creating a barrier from the fire.

"Ace. Deuce." I called out.

"Right!" Deuce gritted his teeth and pulled out his magic pen.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Despite what he said, Ace follows behind.

"You...." Riddle says angrily. "These flowers do not belong in the Rose Maze!"

"Tsk!"

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚍 𝙿𝙾𝚅

"I SUMMON THEE, CAULDRON!"

"Take this!" Ace sends out a wind gust to block the incoming barrage of ink arrows, only for a few ink droplets eating away at his clothes.

"We won't be able to last long, we should—WHAT ARE THEY DOING?!" Cater yelled.

[Y] teleported in front of him, leaving a trail of flowers in their wake. Startled by them, Riddle aims the arrows at them only for them to bring an arm up and wrap the vines around him and the blot monster. They closed their palm with Riddle gasping for air, feeling more irritated in front of him.

"You ignorant wretch!"

"[Y] Don't hurt him!"

They turn their head back to see Trey shouting wearily at her only to find a hardened expression returned back to him.

"Please...."

"I'm not planning on killing him." They deadpanned. "Only the ink monster behind him and knocking him down."

"What....."

In that moment, a vine slapped the back of Riddle's head causing him to go unconscious as the head glass of the Overblot monster blasted into pieces. The flowers beneath them carried them up to catch the Heartslabyul Prefect in their arms.

"Cutie-chan's scary...." Cater sweated, smiling nervously as [Y] walks towards them with the ink blots disappearing from Riddle.

"Myah! That's my henchman! You should 'ave see what they did in the mines!" Grim laughs.

"What are you looking so proud for?" Ace raises a brow at the feline. "You hardly did anything."

"HEY!"

"Now, that's over, please take him...." They stumbled to give Riddle to Deuce. "I might need... a short....rest......"

They fell unconscious, their body finally done with experience of adrenaline. They weren't sure who caught thembut better than landing on the grass.

Whatever.

"HENCHMAN!"

"THIS IDIOT, THEY OVERDID IT—"

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

𝙵𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝙿𝙾𝚅

I found myself in an elegant dining room, sitting at the table where someone seems to be celebrating their birthday.

'What is this....another premonition....?'

"Happy Eighth Birthday, Riddle."

I look right next to me to see a familiar redhead looking at a cake filled with mixed nuts and holding a number 8 shaped candle with my presence going unnoticed.

"Memories...."

I then glance upwards to see a woman with red hair looking at Child Riddle in a stern manner.

"This year's birthday cake is a low-sugar recipe made with nuts and lecithin-rich soy flour to improve your cerebral function." She explained.

"Thank you, Mama." He answers sheepishly before asking in a shy tone. "But, um... Just once, I'd like to try one of those tarts covered with bright-red strawberries..."

'So that's his mother.....'

"Absolutely not! Those tarts are monstrously unhealthy. I might as well feed you poison! Even just a single slice would exceed your recommended daily intake of sugar." She said with a raised voice causing his little self to flinch.

"Now, dinner tonight will be a tuna sauté rich in DHA and omega-3 fatty acids. Now that you're eight, your caloric intake should be 600 kilocalories per meal, so don't eat more than 100 grams of it. Understood?"

"...Yes mama."

I narrowed my eyes at the woman as she walked away to leave Riddle to eat. Strands of her red hair sway softly with each step.

"It should've happened to Ricardo! Not me! There must be a mistake! I must give it back to him right away!"

"BE QUIET! IF THERE WAS A SOLUTION, WOULD I STILL BE DEALING WITH THIS PROBLEM?!"

Ẉ̴͖̲͇͗̌͂̽̄̈̋̄̑̕͜͠ͅr̶̨̟̙̔̽͑̓͝͝e̵̢͎̻̣͇͛́̆͒̇̾̾̌̿̏͐̕͘͝t̸͎̅̏̏͂͗̕͝͠c̷̢̞̤̰̩̪̜̭͕̪͎̫̩͙̆̚͝͠͝ͅh̸̙͓͈̘̯͇̥̩̝̤͍̺̥͚̆̿͑̌̓͌̅̓e̵̡̘͔̜̞̞̼̞͚̼̦̻̖͖͌̈́̃̅̈́͑̀͘͠͝͝͠ͅd̴̰̫̗̩͉͇͓͇̑̂ͅ ̶̡̢̩͈̤͙̲͍̝̬̐͋̓̋̀̈́͗̚͘ṟ̸͇̻̻͎̪̝͗͌͋̇̿͐̿̀̾̕͠͠ͅê̶̺̔̚d̷͖͓͕̦̗̲̬̈́̓͛̓̒͘̕̚͜͝ ̴̮̜͆͊̈́̆͑̉̏̃̅̏̈́̚̕h̸̻̹̫̜͙̝̩̤͓̜͔̭͕̣͚͌̉̋̔͒̂̽͠a̴̬̰͚̱̦̮͍̓̌͛͑͂̈́̅̓̎i̶͉̖͔͆̃̈́̍̂̇̿̋̊͛̃̇̎͘͝ͅr̵͓̹̭̹̅̆͊͐̈̆̚̚̕͝͝

I sighed as I continued to watch Riddle's memories, taking into account how he made friends with Trey and Chenya, him being able to grab a sweet taste of a strawberry tart, skipping his studies for carefree moments before getting caught by his mother.

"Those two hoodlums must have incited this behavior! You must never play with them again!"

He grabbed her arm desperately, tears flowing uncontrollably at the thought of losing his friends. "I'm sorry, Mother! It won't happen again! So please!"

"Be quiet!" Her voice boomed, pulling her arm away from him before walking away. "You broke the rules, and now you're paying for it! Clearly you're not able to handle the freedom of independent study. I'll simply need to keep a closer eye on you."

"Because I broke the rules, my favorite part of my day was taken away from me.I vowed to never break my mother's rules again. After all, she was the most accomplished mother in the city, and therefore, the most correct."

"But mom, why....."

"Why does my heart hurt so much?"

"I want to eat a tart! It's my birthday,so can't I have some just this once?"

"I want to play outside all day long!"

"I want to make lots and lots of friends!"

"Tell me, Mom, please..."

"What rule do I need to follow to make this pain go away?"

Memories of him began to fade to black as I was stuck in darkness again and I saw Riddle on the ground breathing heavily and trembling.

"Drip, drip."

With each step of their heel, it sends ripples throughout the still ink. They stood in front of him before crouching down and placed a hand under his chin to look at them in silence.

Before slapping across his cheek.

"AGH—" The redhead hisses from the pain. "What in the world are you doing?"

"It helped, didn't it?" I said blankly, pointing at his hands. "The trembles stopped."

'Huh....?' Riddle looked at his hands.

"Look, I'm not going to sit here and say it isn't your fault because it is." This statement causes him to wince. "Following rules are only meant to be a guide for you to grow not to define you. It's not going to make that pain leave."

"People's mistakes help them learn and improve themselves to be better. So, if you've push yourself to only follow your mother's footsteps, the only thing you've been doing is limiting your personal growth if you think your mother is some God and she holds the ultimate truth just because she's successful." I remark dryly.

"Just because you were raised that way, doesn't mean others would follow behind that authority." I held out a hand. "And, if your members can fight back, then perhaps it's time for you to learn something from them."

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

I woke up first with my sight adjusting to the vision of the familiar school infirmary I know. I tried to sit up only to feel a sudden headache come up making me clutch my head.

"[Y], you're awake!" My feline companion yelled causing me to wince at the volume as he came crashing down to hug me. "Stupid henchman!"

"What the..." I answered raspily given I was unconscious for a while. "Grim..."

"[Y]!, thank the Great Sevens you're ok!" Deuce helped me sit upright, putting a hand on my back to gently get me up. "You shouldn't be getting up this quickly."

Ace flicks my head. "Geez, what a warning. "I'll just take a nap for a minute. It's been a couple of hours missy."

"Cutie-chan's ok!" Cater pats my head.

"You gave us quite a scare there...." Trey sweated before looking at Riddle. "It's only him now."

"Give it a few." I answered. "He'll be awake."

"Cutie, there's no way you could possibly know that...."

"Gah!" Riddle gasped for air as he woke up from the bed beside me. "What in the world...."

"Look who's finally awake." Ace eyes their red haired dormleader.

Cater turned back to me comically serious. "How could you have possibly known that? "

"Ah, Mr. Rosehearts and Mx. [Y] appears to have regained consciousness. Excellent." The crow cuts into the conversation.

"Don't worry, Riddle. Just try to rest." Trey said gently.

"Yo, that's just the sort of coddling that led to him going nuts in the first place! Now the garden is tore up from the floor up, not to mention that we could've died!" Ace exclaimed.

I sighed at his outburst as a jumble of voices started ringing in my ear, mixing about in the air.

"The truth is, I... I really wanted to eat the chestnut tart." The Heartslabyul dormleader clenches his fist on the blanket as tears begin to well up his eyes.

"Huh?" Ace glances at Riddle.

"And I don't care if the roses are white, or the flamingos are pink. And I prefer honey to sugar cubes in my tea, and I like milk tea better than lemon tea anyhow. And after a meal, I want to be the one sitting around talking with everyone..."

"Riddle...." Trey murmurs sadly at his childhood friend.

"And I really wanted to play with you and Chenya more, Trey." He sniffled before he started sobbing loudly.

"Riddle Rosehearts, in tears... Hashtag #WOW." Cater lowly whistled.

I sighed closing my eyes as if it'll lessen the headache even more.

"[Y], I'm sorry...."

"Hm....." I opened them to see Riddle trying to wipe what seemed to be endless tears away in sniffles to apologize.

"I'm really sorry..."

"It's fine...." I replied motionlessly before sighing again. Flowers began fluttering around me to prep my teleport."You all should talk it out...."

I then disappeared into a gust of flowers, leaving trails of them in my wake.

"Hey, she just disappeared." Cater said in surprise.

"Ah, that janitor is working overtime now if they keep doing that..." Crowley whines. "My poor vacation funds...."

"But, didn't they forget about Grim? " Ace snickers at him. "Damn you got left behind."

"Should I call her to come back?" Deuce put a hand in his pocket to pull out his phone.

Grim stared blankly at the place they once were before shaking his head.

"No, leave them be." He replied.

"I know when they're not in a good mood...."

I woke up first with my sight adjusting to the vision of the familiar school infirmary I know. I tried to sit up only to feel a sudden headache come up making me clutch my head.

"[Y], you're awake!" My feline companion yelled causing me to wince at the volume as he came crashing down to hug me. "Stupid henchman!"

"What the..." I answered raspily given I was unconscious for a while. "Grim..."

"[Y]!, thank the Great Sevens you're ok!" Deuce helped me sit upright, putting a hand on my back to gently get me up. "You shouldn't be getting up this quickly."

Ace flicks my head. "Geez, what a warning. "I'll just take a nap for a minute. It's been a couple of hours missy."

"Cutie-chan's ok!" Cater pats my head.

"You gave us quite a scare there...." Trey sweated before looking at Riddle. "It's only him now."

"Give it a few." I answered. "He'll be awake."

"Cutie, there's no way you could possibly know that...."

"Gah!" Riddle gasped for air as he woke up from the bed beside me. "What in the world...."

"Look who's finally awake." Ace eyes their red haired dormleader.

Cater turned back to me comically serious. "How could you have possibly known that? "

"Ah, Mr. Rosehearts and Mx. [Y] appears to have regained consciousness. Excellent." The crow cuts into the conversation.

"Don't worry, Riddle. Just try to rest." Trey said gently.

"Yo, that's just the sort of coddling that led to him going nuts in the first place! Now the garden is tore up from the floor up, not to mention that we could've died!" Ace exclaimed.

I sighed at his outburst as a jumble of voices started ringing in my ear, mixing about in the air.

"The truth is, I... I really wanted to eat the chestnut tart." The Heartslabyul dormleader clenches his fist on the blanket as tears begin to well up his eyes.

"Huh?" Ace glances at Riddle.

"And I don't care if the roses are white, or the flamingos are pink. And I prefer honey to sugar cubes in my tea, and I like milk tea better than lemon tea anyhow. And after a meal, I want to be the one sitting around talking with everyone..."

"Riddle...." Trey murmurs sadly at his childhood friend.

"And I really wanted to play with you and Chenya more, Trey." He sniffled before he started sobbing loudly.

"Riddle Rosehearts, in tears... Hashtag #WOW." Cater lowly whistled.

I sighed closing my eyes as if it'll lessen the headache even more.

"[Y], I'm sorry...."

"Hm....." I opened them to see Riddle trying to wipe what seemed to be endless tears away in sniffles to apologize.

"It's fine...." I replied motionlessly before sighing again. Flowers began fluttering around me to prep my teleport."You all should talk it out...."

I then disappeared into a gust of flowers, leaving trails of them in my wake.

"Hey, she just disappeared." Cater said in surprise.

"Ah, that janitor is working overtime now if they keep doing that..." Crowley whines. "My poor vacation funds...."

"But, didn't they forget about Grim? " Ace snickers at him. "Damn you got left behind."

"Should I call her to come back?" Deuce put a hand in his pocket to pull out his phone.

Grim stared blankly at the place they once were before shaking his head.

"No, leave them be." He replied.

"I know when they're not in a good mood...."

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

I didn't plan on attending the Unbirthday Party part two, or as Ace would call it "Revenge Unbirthday Party" however, given the invites, Grim wanted to go for the food so I decided to amuse and accompany him. I suppose I could partake in some cake.

"All hail our leader, the Red Sovereign himself, Housewarden Riddle!" A Heartslabyul student proclaimed.

"We salute you, Housewarden Riddle! " All the students said in unison.

"Hm. The garden roses are red, the tablecloths are white... This seems like a proper unbirthday indeed. Is there a dormouse asleep in the teapo-" Riddle cut himself off in realization. "Er, well, I suppose it's fine either way."

"Not everything has to change completely, you know. Like, maybe spread the jam on your scones, instead of on the dormouse this time?" Trey smiled to encourage him. "Let's try to set the bar at "it's great if it's this way," not "it absolutely has to be this way."

"Yes, that makes—" Riddle trails off as gust of pink flowers fluttered in the air as [Y] appears with Grim. "....sense."

"Apologies for coming about like this as we were in a hurry." I bowed before glancing at them. "I'll be sure to clean up as early as possible."

Riddle stares at them stunned.

"...It seems I better get started."

He began turning into different shades of red before he stumbling on his answer. "N-No! It's alright!"

He cleared his throat and waved it off. "I—I mean we are already delighted with your presence and the pink petals add a bit of more color to the rose maze!"

"Riddle?..." Trey sweatdrop at his friend's red face.

"...If you say so." I muttered before proceeding to find a place to sit.

"Hey, did he start clamping up again?" Ace whispered to Deuce as he glanced at Riddle . "He looks like a tomato and he's about to burst...."

"Doesn't look like it...." Deuce said confused. "If he was, he wouldn't have let them walk away like that...."

"What are you two whispering about now...." I sweatdrop.

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

Things became stranger after that.

I can see that he was trying to improve himself slowly. Though he has some habits he couldn't get rid of as I can some occasional "Off with Your Heads" every once and a while.

However, that was one thing. After his Overblot, it seems he was more perceptive around me. Every once and a while I can feel his presence trailing me, observing my actions.

One day, when it was my alone time at the library after class, I felt like I was being watched again. Sighing as I close my book, I called him over.

"I can tell when someone is observing me." I remarked, leaning my head onto my hand. "Do you think I'm some kind of animal to experiment on?"

A small sound of an "eep" came from one of the bookshelves. There was moment of silence as I waited for my observer to appear. Slowly, the sound of footsteps made their way into my ear as I opened my eyes to see the familiar Heartslabyul Prefect before me looking sheepish, holding a couple of books in his hand .

I blinked at him before tapping on the chair right beside me.

"Come sit. Or are you planning to stand like a sleeping horse?" I raised a brow.

He wordlessly follows, taking a seat in the chair beside me as I go back to reading my book. The redhead glances at me every once and while as he goes to study, taking down notes of the important parts. It was quiet for a few minutes, a gust of gentle breeze popping in from the window from time to time before I popped a question out of the blue.

"So, why have you been monitoring me?" I asked casually as I flipped a page.

The sound of a scribbling pen stopped.

"...I wasn't monitoring. I was simply.... observing you." He murmurs thoughtfully.

"Did you gain anything about me...?" Another page was turned.

"...The only thing I've known so far is how you enjoy eating a blueberry cheesecake." He answers with embarrassment.

"Pfft—"

"Uh...." Riddle stares as [Y] chuckles before gradually turning to full blown laughter at his answer.

"You laughed...."

"Hm? Oh my....." I covered my lips only for my eyes to show that I'm clearly smiling.

'Beautiful....'

"I can't understand you at all."

"Hm...." I hummed.

"You can say such malicious words with a stoned-faced look to pair...." He murmured, glancing at me. "Yet, your actions say differently as you laugh freely right next to me."

"Is that so....?"

"So why do you seem so distant with me...."

I shut my book, my expression shifting again and stood up.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that." I narrowed my eyes at him. With my back turned from him I started walking away, slowly warning him.

"Tread carefully as wandering where you don't belong will only lead to harsh consequences."

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

'Why doesn't this world let me go....'

When someone tells you to know your place, one should follow yet Riddle keeps shoving his nose into my business. He kept showing up in the library to read with me, taking me to class when we pass by each by chance when I insisted no.

I was growing irritable by the day especially with ongoing investigation of the injured students that are talented players for the Magift Tournament.

"Do you have our Prefect head over heels for you or something?" Ace asked one day when we were proceeding to Potionology together with Deuce and Grim. "I swear he's been turning his eyes to you whenever we're at like a 6 mile radius from him."

"How would I know...." I responded sharply. "I don't control him do I?"

"Wow, now I'm just saying...." Ace raises his hands, the three pausing their footsteps as they watch their friend walk to class without them. "Aren't they a ray of sunshine today?"

"Dumbass, leave them alone, they look stressed out." Deuce sighed.

"Who you calling a dumbass?!"

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

'He just won't leave me alone....'

That was it. This was the last straw. Not only did he take on the members of Savanaclaw coming to attack me when we confronted them when we realized the culprits. But took the blast of sand coming for me from Leona when he Overblotted, sending him flying and collapsing on the ground.

"RIDDLE!" Cater went running to get him

'Shit.' I teleported to him, checking his pulse only to breathe a sigh when coming to the realization that he was only rendered unconscious.

"Cater, take him to the infirmary."

Cater froze under my gaze for a moment before nodding as he.

"Hn....[Y]...."

"Tsk...." I narrowed my eyes before walking towards Leona with a scowl, remaining unfazed by the sandstorm.

Whatever I shown must have mean I broke a my flower vines scattered across the field. Thorns of their tendrils scraped against Leona's skin, small wounds opening spilling blood.

"Miss Nature ain't looking too happy...." Ace sweated at the scene in front of him as Leona roared, struggling from the choking vines.

"Myah! They're not." Grim said. "The last time I saw this many flowers was after the opening ceremony. Someone pissed them off."

"WHY DO YOU GET IN MY WAY?!"

"[Y]... Don't hurt him...."

A weak yell.

I glance back to see Cater holding up Riddle, breathing heavily as he struggled to hold up. We stare at each other for a few seconds before I turn to look at the Savanaclaw Prefect and close my palm to control my vines behind him to shatter the monster.

The second it bursted I collapsed again.

No doubt, for another dream, yippee.

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

The second I woke up, I saw Riddle beside me, blearily rubbing his eyes to adjust his vision before he noticed me. He flinched under my stare.

"You....." I stood up and stalked towards him.

"Hey, you're awake!" Ace exclaimed.

"You shouldn't be getting up, stay in bed—"

"Shut up." I deathly stared at the others who were silenced before looking at him. I held his shoulder teleporting both of us to Ramshackle. "It's between him and me."

"What are they doing...." Deuce said worriedly.

"Did Riddle actually fall for Cutie-chan...." Cater smiles nervously.

As soon we appeared inside, I immediately bolted the outside with flowers, leaving no way to escape.

"Why do you keep getting in my way?!" I shouted. "Your whole self has been adding another problem in my list so—"

"I saw it." He murmured.

"What...."

"I had a dream that night after my disgrace...." He stares right at me with a neutral expression. "A young girl with the powers of spring...."

"Playing at the hands of immortality...."

'No....no....' My face changed to one of horror.

"As her family and fiance drove her to the brink of insanity to each life when she returned...."

"Don't say another word." I grabbed his shoulders. "The deeper you go the more you'll regret."

'No one must know me.....'

"...Was it my hair that made you distant from me?" Riddle mumbled.

His mother gave it to him so what was he to do?

"Do you honestly think that was what's bothering me?!" I gritted my teeth. "I don't belong in this world, and I was meant to disappear. All of you have a place in this world while I don't!"

He gazed at me as I rant and collapse on the ground shaking, tears spilling out.

'No one must know how I feel.....'

"So don't get close because it will only result in you getting hurt."

"For I await the day where I can finally lay down to rest...."

I continued shaking before I slowly felt the sensation of someone wrapping their arms around me. He hugged me tightly as if he was trying to shield me from the whole world.

"777th Rule from the Queen of hearts states: That no Queen should make simple regrets for they are the one that rules amongst their subjects." Riddle said with a stern tone. "So I've never regretted being with you."

"So until the day you rest, please allow me to accompany you and help you smile once more...."

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️🌤️

⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟

⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️

Hell yeah let's do it.

84 for 🌤️:

---

“Uh, I’m sure they are…” Buck winces, unsure what decorations would be his, and in which bin they would be located. 

“Can you get them out?” Nico asks. Buck swears the kid’s eyes grow in size to better resemble a puppy. 

“Let’s look for them,” Buck agrees. He starts taking the lids off of bins and rummaging around. 

It soon becomes clear what he’s looking for. A collection of Christmas crafts and ornaments, just like the tree pinned to the fridge. Most of them are things an adult clearly did, with toddler marker scribbles on them. But then there are other things. Precious things. A photo frame ornament with a photo of Nico as a baby and Baby’s First Christmas in silver lettering. A holiday card with a picture of Nico and Chris. Nico is maybe two or three. Photos with Santa. 

Nico tucks himself up under Buck’s arm as Buck is sifting through all these preserved memories. He snuggles into him with utter familiarity and trust. Of course he does. Buck is his father. And Buck would hope he’s not been a shitty one. Of course he trusts him. Buck is rigid for a moment, uncertain what to do with this affection. 

“I like this one,” Nico says, pointing to the photo of himself and Chris. 

Buck smiles softly. “Yeah, so do I. Chris must be… I mean, Chris is a really good brother, right?”

“Mhm,” Nico nods. “The best ever.” 

Buck’s throat feels tight. 

“That’s amazing,” Buck says. “You know… I’m a little brother, too.”

“I know! Auntie Maddie!”

Of course he knows that. Auntie Maddie. He likes the sound of that. 

“Right, Auntie Maddie,” Buck replies. “Anyway, just… You’re really lucky you know? Having an amazing big brother or sister is the best thing in the world.”

“Yeah!” Nico agrees. 

“And Chris is lucky, too,” Buck says. “Because you… You’re a pretty special kid.”

Nico beams at him. Buck’s heart melts. He doesn’t know how he knows it, but he knows he’s right. Nico is special. The most special… He… He’s Buck’s. If only Buck actually knew him. 

🌤️

Christopher lives on the first floor of what is clearly a building full of student apartments. Eddie parks and walks to the door, trying to keep himself from trembling. This is insane. This is all so insane. His son is twenty. His teenager is an adult. And he’s in Los Angeles again. A twenty minute drive away. Near his college campus. Talking to Eddie regularly. Eddie doesn’t know what to expect.

When he knocks, Chris answers within thirty seconds. 

“Hey, Dad!” He greets Eddie warmly.

Eddie just about passes out. 

He’s taller. Eddie’s height. He’s… He’s a grown up. He’s a young man. He looks healthy and happy and… And perfect. He’s perfect. 

Eddie’s hand flies to his mouth, in utter shock. His eyes are burning, and before he can hold himself back, he’s fucking crying. 

“Dad?” Christopher inquires, alarmed. 

---

45 for ⚡:

---

“I think I should go now, Eddie. I need some time to process this.” 

Well, that’s fine. He doesn’t want to see her until Thanksgiving at the earliest, anyway. 

“Okay. Goodbye,” Eddie says. “I’ll keep you updated.”

“That would be good,” she says stiffly. “Goodbye.”

“Bye,” he replies, teeth gritted. 

She hangs up. Eddie takes a few moments to breathe, until he feels lighter. Until he knows he can move forward, without the weight of their dynamic impacting his relationship with yet another child. It feels like one of the first things he’s done to protect his daughter, beyond choosing to adopt her. It also feels like something he’s done to protect himself. And that feels good. 

When he’s ready, Eddie finds Buck and Chris in the living room, bickering playfully over a video game. He plunks himself down between them, sighing, and leans his head onto Buck’s shoulder. He’s almost certain this ruins Buck’s game, but he can’t quite bring himself to care. Neither does Buck, apparently. As Chris whoops in victory, Buck turns to kiss Eddie’s forehead. 

“All good?” He asks. 

Eddie nods. “Things are going to be different, uh… With you know…”

Buck kisses him again. “Proud of you.”

“Dad, you’re kind of ruining the game,” Chris chastizes. 

“Really?” Eddie asks. “Because I’m pretty sure I just secured your win.”

“That is true,” Chris admits.

“Oh? Teaming up on me? Unbelievable!” Buck complains. 

“Don’t worry,” Eddie says. “The baby can be on your team.”

Chris laughs. “What good will that do?”

“You guys are laughing, but I am going to train her up so good,” Buck scowls at them. “She’ll be my ultimate weapon.”

“Okay, sure, Buck,” Chris teases.

---

39 for 🔼:

---

Eddie coughs. “Okay, uh… Well, listen. We’re both learning right?”

Buck nods. “Right.”

“I don’t expect expertise,” Eddie says. “I hope you don’t, either?”

“No!” Buck insists. “No! I don’t. I promise I don’t. Sorry, I just… I want things to be good for you.”

“I think it will be,” Eddie says. “Because it’s you. And if not… Then, whatever. We’ll figure it out.”

Buck exhales, relieved. More relieved than he had expected. He didn’t even know he needed that assurance, really. The thing is, there’s a significant part of him that can’t really get past the notion that sex is what he brings to the table. For a long time, he knew it was all he brought to the table. Abby had sort of changed that. Until she hadn’t. And then… Even though he knows Ali really liked him for sincere reasons, there’s a small voice in his head that always reminds him she left when he wasn’t able to perform for a while. He knows her reasoning. Knows it wasn’t that. But they were pretty active? What if that was part of it? 

“You’re uh… You’re sure?” Buck asks Eddie. 

“Of course I’m sure,” Eddie replies. “It actually sort of makes me feel better that… That I’m not the only clueless one.”

---

36 for🧟:

---

“Mmm, and you won’t,” Athena says. “But you know what that tells me?”

“What?” Matthew asks.

“You cannot afford to keep fucking with us,” Athena says. There’s something completely certain about her words. Even though Buck knows they’re all afraid of exactly the opposite of what she’s said.

Matthew glares at her. 

“So, what’ll it be, Matt?” Athena asks. “Do I kill you now, and let your pals attempt to avenge you? Or do I send you home with that as the message? Up to you.”

As Taylor had anticipated, Matthew makes the right choice. 

Buck, and the rest of them, will just have to trust that these ass hats are smart enough to take a hint. And if not? Well, he thinks they’re sort of a force to be reckoned with. 

September 11th, 2018

The twenty-four hours following Matthew Sparks’ bloodied, frightened departure from Sunport are sort of marked by chaos. At least for Buck. Maybe nobody else sees it that way. 

There’s a lot of talking. Big discussions. About the future, the present… All the threats that potentially face them. The women from L.A. discuss an alliance. Two entities, settlements, looking out for each other. For innocent people who might need their help. Hen is so into the idea, it sort of makes it hard for anyone else to have a differing opinion. They talk about setting up a code for radio communication. 

“You’re welcome,” Buck mumbles at that discussion. Earning him an eye roll from Bobby. Albeit, a fond one. They’ve promised to have a conversation when things settle down a bit. Hopefully to ease some of the tension from when Buck left. So much has happened, he forgets even arguing, to be honest. 

---

You get the first words of chapter 2! 99 for ⚖️:

---

When Buck wakes from whatever vision Nemesis sent him, all his exhaustion has vanished. Instead, he feels a sort of bone deep pull. An instinct. Deeply rooted and starving for fulfillment. 

He despises it. 

He knows now what Nemesis wants. Correction. What she expects. He also knows what he has to lose by ignoring her. Everything. Something happening to Eddie or Bobby or anyone else he cares about? That would destroy him. So he has to do it. His new… Purpose. 

Nemesis said he would hunger for it, eventually. He just didn’t think that would be immediate. But maybe it’s not. Maybe it’s not the hunger for the job. Maybe it’s the fear of failure. He needs to get this done, to protect the people he loves. That’s all there is to it. 

There’s an easy route and a hard route. One will be quick. One will solve a bigger problem. Buck, feeling angry and full of trepidation, chooses the latter. He grabs a piece of mail, exits his apartment, walks down the hall, and knocks on Lawrence’s door. 

Lawrence answers after a few moments. His red aura is as strong and disconcerting as ever. Buck feels the familiar but excruciating tightening around his tattoo. Luckily, he’s hidden it under a sweater. 

“Oh,” Lawrence says, by way of greeting. “It’s you.” 

Yeah, okay. Buck might not regret this one. 

“Hi,” Buck forces a smile to his face. “I got this mail sent to my apartment, and I was wondering if it’s meant for you. Must’ve been a mistake.”

Buck lifts the flier. He hadn’t even glanced at it before grabbing it, so singular focused as he’d felt. 

Lawrence glances at it. 

“Dude, that’s a Hello Fresh coupon. They send those to everyone.”

Buck glances at it. 

Fuck. He could have chosen better. 

“Oh, really?” Buck asks. “You sure? You want to take a closer look at it? Make sure it’s not like a customer loyalty thing?”

“I’m not a customer,” Lawrence said. 

“Just check!” Buck insists. 

Lawrence huffs, irritated, then reaches forward to grab the fier from Buck. As he snatches it, Buck tilts his hand just enough so that their knuckles brush. Not a prolonged touch, but enough to be effective. The same thing as with the guy at the call happens. Buck is sent from his body to a mosaic of memories. Horrible and damning. He sees all the little pieces that have led to what Lawrence deserves. 

Buck sees it all. He sees three separate girlfriends; all stalked, to increasing degrees of severity. A restraining order. Online threats. Posting nude photos without consent - revenge porn. He sees threats of violence. He sees horrendous insults hurled at a woman who turned him down for a date.

He sees a predator.

All this time, living next to Buck. It’s horrifying. Nauseating. It makes Buck wonder who else he has coexisted with, never fucking knowing. 

But seeing Lawrence’s past and present is only one part of it. Only half the job. Nemesis had explained it. If he freaks out with revulsion at the past, if he can’t stand to see it, he won’t be able to determine which string of future possibilities plays out. And that, after all, is his main job now. 

So he holds fast. He watches it all. Swallows his disgust. 

And then, like a corkboard full of strings, when the memories come to an end - what feels like hours, but isn’t even a second, later - he sees them. His options. He doesn’t get to manufacture them. They aren’t his design. He simply gets to see what could be and pick which one Lawrence deserves. 

A future where he keeps getting away with it. Where no one ever catches him.

A future where he snaps. Kills. Goes to jail for life. 

A future where he’s caught in the act, arrested. Spends a long time in jail. The rest of his life on parole. 

A future where he’s caught in the act, arrested, but is killed in a car accident before his trial. 

Buck feels overwhelmed. It’s a lot of responsibility. Too much. It’s not a fucking gift. It’s a burden. 

How do I do this? Buck thinks, voiceless and formless. 

Just choose. He hears Nemesis like a fucking parasite in his mind. Choose and it will be so. 

Fuck. He hates this. Fine. 

Not the future where he gets away with it. Not the future where a woman is murdered. But… But Buck doesn’t want to be responsible for his death, either.

[specialagentlokitty]

Saul Silva x teen!reader - just lost between worlds

Hey, I have a request for a Saul Silva xTeen Reader Story. If you want to write it 😉 So Reader is from the first World. R runs away from something/ someone, falls and suddenly lands in front of Alfea. Saul finds R. He is suspicious and for the first time only recognizes a danger in R. R wonders where they are and learns about magic, fairies and specialists for the first time. Maybe R becomes a specialist or Saul helps R to find out why R is now in the other world...? - Anon💜

Saul was used to all things strange and weird, but when he got reports there was an intruder outside of Alfea he wasn’t expecting to see a giant crater, a closing hold in the sky and what appeared to be a teenager laying where the road should have been.

“We aren’t sure where they came from or why.” Sky said.

“Are they alive?” Saul asked.

“Yes, we checked. Professor Harvey is coming as well.”

Saul nodded, ordering all the students away and he walked around the landing zone, trying to determine the best and safest way inside.

“Do we have any ID for our mystery teenager?” Farah asked.

“No, but right now they’re yet to wake up, I can’t find a way down can you make one?”

Farah nodded and made them some stairs out of the dirt so the three teachers could go investigate.

While the professor checked you over to make sure you were okay, Saul went through your bag while Farah stood watched carefully, poking through your memories.

“Well, there’s nothing in their head to suggest they would be a threat, let’s take them inside.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Saul said.

“Well we can’t exactly leave them out here.”

He sighed, knowing she was right and helped carry you inside.

It wasn’t until the next day you woke up, and you wouldn’t let anybody near you. You were throwing anything you could grab to keep them all away.

“Calm down!” Saul snapped.

“Fuck off!”

“Either you calm down or I restrain you.”

“I’ll break your nose!”

Saul glared at you, but he made no attempt to actually get near you.

He wasn’t sure what you were capable of yet, and he didn’t want to jump straight into trying to fight you.

When you made no movement, he released his grip on his sword slightly.

“Who are you?”

“You tell me first.”

“We found a student card in your bag, do you go to college?” He asked.

You huffed a little.

“No.”

He carried on asking questions but you wouldn’t give a straight answer.

They all agreed it was best to keep you there while they tried to learn more about you and how you got there but Saul didn’t trust you one bit.

But you were fascinated by Alfea and everything they taught, thought you were sad to learn you didn’t have magic.

“What were you doing when you landed here?” Saul asked.

He was in charge of watching you until Farah came to collect you so he could teach his lessons.

You glanced him from your spot on the pebbles, and tossed one aside.

“Was outside, pretty dark so couldn’t see much.”

He glanced at you before going back to reading some papers.

“Why would you be outside in the dark?”

“Finished work late. I’m bored is there anything to do here?”

“Not for the likes of you who shouldn’t be here. Do you recognise these?”

He handed you a sheet of paper and you looked through it, showing him one of the patterns.

“Its spray painted on the side of my building.”

He took it back and crouched down, handing you another one.

“What about these?”

You looked through them, shaking your head.

“What are they?”

“Protection circles, some fairies use them to hide things. Someone wanted your building hidden. Was it always there?”

“Dunno.”

Saul nodded, folding the papers to put back into his pocket.

“Are your parents magic?”

“Dunno.”

“Do you know their number, maybe we can find them.”

You glanced at him, then laid down, tossing a few pebbles away from you.

“I know where the they are.”

“Where?”

You made grabby hands at him, and he reached over, letting you use the phone they had gotten for you in case they had to leave you.

You went into it, did a few things then handed it back to him.

“What is this?”

“A cemetery obviously. They’re dead asshole.”

“Sorry.”

You said nothing and tossed some more stones.

Saul looked at you, they had preformed all the tests and everything they could, and as far as he could tell there was no magic about you.

There was nothing particularly important about you in relation to Solaria or Alfea, yet here you were.

No explanation.

Just a lost teenager wondering how to get back home considering apparently now you couldn’t just leave solaria.

“When can I go home?”

Saul sighed, looking down at you.

“I’m sorry I don’t know.”

“Okay..”

He walked over, standing above you.

“We’ll figure this out.”

“Don’t waste your time, it’s fine I guess.”

He was still suspicious about you, but now he felt a little bad.

You had nothing here and apparently you had nothing back home either, you were just thrown between realms and all alone.

But until he was sure you weren’t a threat he wouldn’t be taking in the role of a caretaker, even if it did somewhat upset him to see how defeated you seemed to be.

Then an idea struck him.

“Come with me to training.”

You looked at him.

“Come on, it’ll give you something to do and I can still watch you.”

Maybe it wasn’t the best idea, but at least he could watch you, and he could have you stay busy doing something.

What was the worst that could happen?

[semisgroupie]

OVERTIME HOURS

pervy boss!chifuyu matsuno x fem. reader

wc: 2.3k

warnings: office sex, slight power imbalance (since chifuyu is your boss), mutual pining, very very soft dom chifuyu, unprotected sex, creampie, noncon filming (reader isn’t aware of a hidden camera), slight deception, light choking, overstimulation, possessiveness

synopsis: he hired you to get close to you, now that you two are alone so late at night he has to make his move

a/n: this was requesting by my love @blueparadis for my “perverts make the world go ‘round” 4k event! thank you for requesting my love and I hope you enjoy it!

It’s not like you weren’t qualified for the job when he hired you. You were more than qualified, you had an extensive list of experience and all your references had glowing remarks about you.

But the second you walked into his office, your tight pencil skirt hugging all your curves and the top buttons on your blouse gave him a perfect view of your chest, he knew he had to hire you so he could get close to you. Which also meant he had to do whatever he could to have some alone time with you, whether you liked it or not.

Since you got hired you felt like you were being treated unfairly your boss than anyone else, you were the one who had to stay in late almost every day because of the projects you were assigned, you were always called into Chifuyu’s office to discuss your work, you always had to revise things and check your work over with him constantly before submitting in the final work. It drove you insane but you needed the check. With student loans from college and your rent there was no way you could afford losing your job.

Today you went in early in hopes of being able to finish your work early so you could go home on time but Chifuyu had other plans. When you had come back from your lunch break there he stood in your office, his dark hair styled neatly, his expensive suit pressed and hugged his frame perfectly. You let out a small sigh before mustering a fake smile as you opened the door.

“Good afternoon sir, how can I help you?” You looked at the stack of papers in his hands and all dreams of leaving on time to enjoy your weekend were shot down. “I need you to look over and just do some checks on these potential clients. I know I’ve been on you a lot lately”, more like since the first day you started working. “I just know you can do the work best and I trust you. I’ll be staying behind too and when you’re done just meet me in the conference room. That way we can spread everything out and go over it all.”

You nodded and opened your arms to take the papers from him, he leaned in close and you could smell the pine from his cologne before he pulled back. “Don’t worry, your check will reflect all this overtime work. I really appreciate it.” He flashed you a smile then left your office.

If you knew any better you would’ve realized that these were all old clients that have already gone through the checking process, most had ended up being denied since they doctored some of their records but you didn’t know that. And what you don’t know won’t hurt you.

By the time everyone started leaving you were about halfway through with the stack of papers. You glanced up to watch everyone fan out then your eyes trailed to the water dispenser. There stood Chifuyu, his suit jacket was off and his tie was loosened around his neck as he filled his bottle. You watched how his muscles tensed with each subtle movement but you had to pull yourself away. Yes your boss was extremely attractive, the subject of all your wet dreams, but you had to save those thoughts for the privacy of your home.

After what felt like a thousand papers, you were finally finished going through them but now you had to take them to the conference room. You collected them in your arms and left your office to carry them there, once inside you spread them out and after a few minutes Chifuyu walked inside. “I know it probably was a lot of reading and backtracking but I really appreciate this. I hope you don’t mind my lack of a suit jacket and tie, it’s just you and I here.” You hadn’t noticed it until now, the top few buttons on his shirt were unbuttoned and you could see some of his chest. “It’s fine sir, I have no problem with that.”

He walked over to the side of the table you were at and walked behind you. As he passed you could’ve sworn you felt a light brush of his fingers against your ass but you ignored any thoughts. You started sharing your findings with him and it was all things he found out when he went over all the records but he had to pretend to be interested in what you were saying as you spoke. But that didn’t mean his eyes couldn’t wander along your body, practically undressing you with his eyes.

“That’s all I was able to find sir, I don’t think we should have these people as clients unless we want to ruin our reputation.” You turned to face him and leaned against the table. “That was perfect, absolutely perfect but I don’t expect any less from you, darling.” He moved a bit closer to you and placed a gentle hand on your shoulder, lightly squeezing it.

“Hm, you feel quite tense. That’s not good at all, I can’t have my best worker this tense.” He commented and moved behind you, resting both hands on your shoulders. “Sir? What are you doing?” Your heart was practically pounding in your chest as he started massaging your shoulders, you could feel his breath on your ear and he felt closer to you than you could possibly imagine.

“Shh, just relax for me, that’s all I want. You should be treated for all your hard work and it’s just us, don’t worry about a thing. Just enjoy this.” His voice was low, barely above a whisper while his hands worked on your tense muscles. You knew what he was doing was clearly unprofessional but you couldn’t seem to stop him. All you could do was lean back into his touch and close your eyes as he worked his magic.

“You’re wearing too much, just massaging over your blouse won’t help.” He spoke again as his hands moved to your front to start unbuttoning your blouse. You moved your hands to stop him but he swatted them away, “I promise you’ll feel good, don’t worry. Don’t you want this? I’ve seen the way you look at me, I’ve seen how you’ve been looking at me the entire time I’ve been here with you, I even noticed the way you slightly rubbed your thighs together. This tight pencil skirt doesn’t hide a single thing from my eyes, in fact, it accentuates everything. I can tell you this, I want you just as bad.”

Your heart started pounding even faster in your chest. You couldn’t believe his words, there was no way he noticed all that in such a short time. There was no way he could’ve wanted you, but if he didn’t then why was he undressing you? “Sir—”

“Call me by my name, I want to hear it fall from those perfect lips.” His skillful fingers undid your blouse and slid the silk fabric down your shoulders then tossed it on one of the nearby chairs. His hands moved back to your body, groping your chest through your lacy bra. “Chifuyu.” His name fell from your lips and he thought it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. No fantasy or wet dream could measure up to actually hearing it and he could feel his cock throb in his slacks.

“I’m going to take your skirt off then you’re going to sit on top of the table, I’m taking you over all this paperwork, all your hard work. It’s about time I properly repay you for it.” One of his hands continued to fondle your breasts while the other found the zipper to your skirt and quickly pulled it down then pulled at the skirt until it pooled at your feet. You stepped out of it then hopped up onto the table, any papers underneath you were bound to be ruined.

He undid his belt and pants, letting it drop to his ankles then his briefs joined the little bunched up pile. His cock sprung and slapped against his abdomen, its length made up for the lack of thickness and had a slight curve to it that could hit all your sweet spots in one swift movement. The tip was a pinkish red and leaked precum. Your mouth watered at the sight and you felt your pussy clench around nothing. “I would’ve taken my time with you but I’ve wanted this for so long, I can’t wait anymore.” He took one step closer to you and gripped your hips to pull you to the edge of the table. You took your bottom lip between your teeth as he pulled your panties to the side and leaned down to spit on your awaiting pussy.

He gripped his cock with one hand and dragged it through your folds to collect the mixture of your juices and his spit before he pushed it inside you. In one swift motion he snapped his hips into yours, forcing you to take his length in its entirety, which in turn made you cum instantly. Your back arched off the table and a gasp of his name left your lips, your legs shook around his sides and your pussy kept his cock in a vice grip. “Oh fuck baby, just breathe for me. I wanna make you feel even better.”

He watched your chest rise and fall as you took a few deep breaths, “please move, Chifuyu. Please.” He gripped your hips tighter as he started thrusting, he couldn’t give you any time to properly come down from your orgasm. The pleasurable waves of overstimulation coursed through your body as he pounded into you. “I’ve wanted this since the moment you walked into my office, wanted to bend you over my desk and fuck you senseless. Always walking around in those tight skirts and dresses, just begging for my touch on this soft skin. Now I finally have you, I have you and you’re all mine, say it.”

You could barely process his words, they only served as background noise to the pounding of your heart and the squelching of your cunt each time he thrusted. Babbles of his name left your lips but that wasn’t what he needed to hear, he needed to hear the words fall from your lips, he needed you to say you were his. He snaked a hand up from your waist to wrap around your throat and squeeze down on the sides. “Say you’re mine.” The head of his cock hit your g spot repeatedly and each time you tried to gather the words, they were instantly replaced with a cry of his name. He squeezed down a little tighter, just enough to make you suck in a deep breath whenever he let go. “I said, say you’re mine.” He spoke through gritted teeth and his tone made you clench around his cock. You were already on the brink of a second orgasm and his tone alone was almost enough to send you over the edge.

“I’m yours, Chifuyu. I’m all yours.” His hips snapped into yours as the final word left your lips, serving in his mind as confirmation and validation for his thoughts and desires. He kept his hand wrapped around your throat while his other hand gripped your hip tighter. He started driving his hips into yours at a brutal pace, his heavy balls slapping against your ass each time he bottomed out and the head of his cock slammed into your g spot. You were sent over the edge again, his name tumbling from your lips like a prayer and he was your god. He was sent into his orgasm soon after, his sticky cum filling you entirely and even leaked out around his cock, dripping onto the desk and some of the papers underneath your ass.

“We made such a mess” he chuckled and leaned down to kiss you passionately then slowly pulled out of you, which added more cum to the mess that was already spilling out. He bent down to grab your panties and helped bring them up your legs to try to keep as much cum inside you as he could. He helped you sit up and pressed a kiss to your forehead before picking his briefs and pants up. “I’ll go grab some tissues to clean up this mess and then we can go grab dinner nearby.” You nodded at his words and smiled at him. “Sounds perfect, thank you.”

He walked out of the conference room to head to one of the nearby bathrooms for paper towels. Once inside he checked his phone and went to an app he recently installed. As it opened up he was able to see the footage of you hopping off the table to dress yourself. He rewinded the footage to see him fucking you then saved the footage to a private folder on his phone. “All according to plan.”

What you weren’t aware of was that he had planned everything to the finest detail. Before anyone was in the office he took the time to install a hidden camera that would give him a perfect view of when he fucked you. Throughout the month he kept you in for late nights and he would stay behind just typing nothing at his computer just so he could get that much closer to you. He had a feeling you were attracted to him but he just had to keep you behind to make sure the attraction was there before he striked.

Now that he finally had you, he was going to do whatever he had to do to keep you.

[idkanametoputhere]

the last dance

character: rook hunt

pronouns: they/them

genre: fluffy angst

warning: idk they're about to die or something?

"in an alternative universe where the fire lotuses were not destroyed and Rollo succeeded, two young lovers find themselves sharing their last dance"

masterlist<3

the darkness of the night is broken by the light of the fire lotuses. beautiful, red flowers that burn brightly and lighten up this terrible scene

locals and visitors alike are passed put on the ground, their bodies engulfed by the flowers, while he stands by the Bell of Solace, grinning down like a god at the catastrophe he created

and inside a small room in Noble Bell College sit two students, hugging eachother

they originally locked themselves in there for safety, but now the burning flowers have reached them, and the student can feel their magic being sucked out of them

"mon amour" said the young blonde boy. "I believe this will be the last moment when we can use our magic" he says as he tightens his arms around his lover. "its a tragedy. the beauty of magic will be taken away from us. oh great seven, why are you doing this to us?" asks the young hunter to no one in particular

"we won't be able to attend Night Raven College anymore.." said his partner. "dear, I doubt we won't be separated.. I don't know where I'll go" they say quietly and look down with a solemn expression. "I don't know if or when I might see you again, Rook"

a dark look falls upon Rook's face. "ma chérie, I knew it was too good to be true" he sighs. "my love.." they look at him. "we had such great plans for this trip. we were so excited for the masquerade" they say sadly

they look down, then hesitantly speak. "what if..what if magic is holding me here, in this universe? and once these flowers are done with their job, I'll go back to my world?" they ask as they lift their head to look at him. "I might lose you"

they both stay silent for a few moments, looking at eachother. "well then, dearest" he say with a sad smile, then stands up. "allow me to have a final dance with you" he extends his hand towards them

they look up at him, dumbfounded. but then they smile and nod, getting up to join him. they both get ready to dance with their lover, probably for the last time

admittedly, the room isn't ideal for this, it's too small, too cramped, but the two don't care as they dance silently. neither one dares to speak, as if the silence between them is holy, or a precious artifact that will break with the slightest sound

they're both hurting, mentally and physically. the magic being stripped for them is causing them to feel weak, but they try to ignore it. the mental pain is worse. their whole reality is being flipped upside down, because they didn't realise Rollo's vicious plan in time

"mon amour" whispers the hunter as he looks at his partner, who suddenly feels lighter. "you're disappearing" he whispers tearfully. his partner looks back at him with the same pained expression. "I know, dear, I know" they say and rest their forehead against his

"let's just enjoy the time we have left together" they whisper and holding closer, no longer dancing. the two just hold eachother close, scared. "I love you" he whispers. "I love you too" they whisper back

and then only one person is in the room. the young hunter. his lover is gone. soon enough he passes out from the exhaustion of the fire lotuses draining his magic

when he wakes up at a hospital he's crushed. his lover is gone. when he goes back to night raven college to collect his things, he refuses to answer any questions about that dreaded night. it's a night he wants to forget, but also wants to keep in his heart, for it's the last time he saw his lover

and his lover? well, they woke up in their bedroom, confused. they're sad, but they don't know why. it's weird, but they shrug it off as them having a bad dream, as they stand up

and yet, their hand still finds its way around the necklace with a little bow and arrow charm hanging around their neck

a/n: I wrote half of this at school during like 2-3 periods. anywho HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! I hope this year treats all of you well and that you will be healthy and happy<3

[temptingempress]

MORE AND MORE

Word count: 5k

Genre: Psychology, comedic,

summary: when two worlds collide. Opposite who want the other things. When they finally discover eachother they just want to unravel more.

Warning: bad words, mentions of cuts, mentions of glass shards, a little smut just a sprinkle!, heavy making out, cheating, bed squeaks, rushed dramatic backstories lol, uhhhh I think that's it but if there's more inform me through dm 😙

Her skin represents dripping golden honey and her round lips tinted a rose pink. She prances around the small colorful coffee shop in her white long sleeved dress and her golden locks bouncing up and down. "Bye Jimin" she kissed her beloved cheeks before she left.

Areum Bailey

A young adult trying to navigate her life in nyc. She lives by herself... well, with her cat, Mindy. She's been working at this Cafe ever since her auntie passed away taking the lead manager role. It was nice on some days. When the days were rainy and the crowd was calm and collective but on days like these, mid summer days, the cafe was bustling with people of all sorts. Buisness leads trying to rush the baristas, old ladies holding the lines up, and your typical Karens not getting what they want.

But there was one person that the cafe was well known too. A regular you could say.

Jung Hoseok

Everytime he walked in his presence was known. He towered over everyone and his style was too specific. Hard but casual. Just a plain black turtle neck that showed off his wonderful broad shoulders and black cargo pants and not to mention a peek of his tattoo. He walked up to the counter looking down at Areum.

They don't know eachother formally but they do have mutual friends

"Mister Jung." Areum smiled "what will you be having today?"

Hoseok answered almost automatically "the usual. Plain. black. coffee." He emphasized and set more than enough cash down revealing his sleeve and into her eyes. This always happens. He likes to keep eye contact even when it feels unnatural

"Keep the tip. Nice pearls." He stares at her neck for a second then leaves.

"Uh.. thank you." That was as awkward as ever.. she thought to herself.

He was the epitome of nonchalant, getting a genuine reaction out of him seemed impossible. Areum distributed the cash properly. She always wondered about him. "Plain black!" She shouted to the baristas. It was his usual.

He never liked anything frilly or new. He always stuck with what he knew the best. Areum notes that he always came into her shop with nothing but some cash. He always stands up and waits for his coffee. It was like he was in a rush but he wasn't... something in the way he speaks or the way he looks is odd.. like he was hiding something.

"For Jung Hoseok!" She hands the coffee to him and he gently bows taking the coffee from her hands. "Thank you"

With that he walks away, making Areum even more curious about his life but no, she cannot fawn over customers that's improper work behavior. One of her colleagues, Frey often spoke about him in a conversation they were having at the time. "I went to college with him... he's very handsome and was a great student but 3rd year he got kicked out for some reason..." She turns towards Areum "he commits to this coffee shop more than he ever did in school. I think he likes you."

Areum laughed a bit as she prepared to close down "Frey, first of all i have a boyfriend and i am not trying to be that girl. he literally comes in, orders like any other paying customer, then walks out. He doesn't like me and quite frankly I hope he doesnt." She scoffed.

Frey sighed, her colleague was also her good friend. She was a fashion student "come on Areum. He comes in, orders a plain black coffee that his ass could just make from home, them leaves to where ever the f he goes!" She laughed. "I'm pretty sure he's coming for a bootycall at this point."

"I'm good with my cats and my current boyfriend thank you." Areum rolled her eyes. "And I'm not gonna get with some college drop out."

"Eieie, you're so harsh. He was a good student but I forgot that you live by whatever the hell your parents say. Arent they the one who set him up with you 'i can only see him once a week' boyfriend. Damn, do they even set up your bootycalls?"

"Can we stop talking about bootycalls in this warm kid friendly environment?" She ran her hand through her hair with a slight chuckle. "And no, I make my own decisions. Jimin and i... are very happy. He's very busy. Hes always on work trips and such" She mumbles the last part. A tiny part in her heart doubts that's true but Areum she has hope in this man... he's the best thing that's ever happened to her... right?

"Sure, whatever you say elmo." Frey ruffled Areums hair. She got her bag and prepared to leave "I'm just saying that you never know. Hoseok might just be right up your alley. Literally. I don't know much about him but the sexual tension is rising oooo, its getting hot!" She teased as she opened the door. Areum threw a empty bottle at her as she laughed and went along with her day.

The day went on and it was finally time for her to clock out and go home. Maybe catch up on some netflix. She drove home and unlocks the door to her own one story house. She was a stable women, with a stable check. Everything her parents ever wanted her to be. She had a good life and good friends but deep down inside she wanted to be living a different life.

She lied down on the couch and grabbed the remote, turning on dancing with the stars. When the show turned on she tossed the remote down and went to the bathroom.

She wanted to be one of them. One of the well known celebrities. She wanted her life to be fabricated. All the glitz and glam she really took care of herself to give that illusion.

Taking a makeup wipe she clears her face.

Even though she had everything she wanted... she wanted more. Like a girl that could never get satisfied. She needed something exciting in her life.. new... interesting. Something to keep her entertained

. "I went to college with him... he's very handsome and was a great student but 3rd year he got kicked out for some reason..."

The words echoed in her ear as she grabbed her face wash and squirted some on her hands. "Jung Hoseok..." She mumbles. Her mind stays on him.. what was he really like.

Jung hoseok..

She opened her computer screen and looked his name up. She couldn't help herself. She found a instagram page of him wearing a suit. It was set to private but the bio said "Secretary of Myrion Corporations"

Curse her lack to respect other people's privacy. Maybe Frey was right.

She looked up the company and apparently it was linked with her father's. A mining company. "What..." She didn't even know her dad had a partner until now. Not that she ever paid attention to her dad's buisness. She looked up the partnered ceo's name which apparently he had the same last name as Hoseok. "Yunho Jung..."

She quickly opened instagram up again and saw that his page wasn't private. "Partnered owner of Myrion Company..." She scrolled down and "bingo." She found a photo of Hoseok. He had a faint smile on his face as he shook hands with some important buisness people the caption said "glad my son is following in my footsteps." All his tattoos were covered

BANG BANG BANG

she hears amd quickly exits all of the tabs. "Who- who is it?" She stutters as she puts her computer away.

"It's your favorite! I came with pizza!" His voice booms. She could recognize his booming voice from miles away. The king of destruction. She opens the door "did you also come with the money you owed me for literally smashing my wall in?" She jested with a fake smile

"I was hoping the pizza would cover for that" he invited himself in. "What chu watching? Bad chics of Beverly Hills?"

She chuckled and helped Namjoon with the pizza. A genuine friend she cant deny. Shes known him since high school. "no, Dancing with the Stars. "

"Boring "

"I can't watch Beverly hills anymore because it rubs off on me! Last week when the mail man came I literally spilled all my junior high drama to him" she pulled a slice of pizza "then I got mad at him for not agreeing with me and then I apologized to him because I-"

"Damn fighting with the mail man, whatta new low for you." He sung. Areum scoffs and throws a pillow at him as he laughed. "Frey told me about your new crush. "

Areum sinks in the couch, pretending not to hear him. Of course she did... "I always loved pineapple on my pizza"

"Don't get with him. He's bad news" Namjoon sighed and took a huge bite. Areum bites her lip trying to hold back her curiosity but his comment made it even more difficult. "What do you mean..."

"Drugs, cheating, stealing, whatever you can think of this man has probably done it"

"Whaat?" She turns to him "no way! He can't be associated with any of those things. He's working under-" oops, her tongue slipped.

"Don't even act surprised that you can't hold a secret either. I know you looked him up. There were rumors going on about him. Him and I went to the same college. He got kicked out cause he was dealing drugs." He licks his fingers "and besides every day of the week he's with every other girl you could possibly imagine. Probably pulled Kim K once HA! You don't want him."

"Yeah i dont... I was just curious.. but aren't those just rumors? I saw his Instagram page and it looked professional"

"That was a font baby" he chuckled "you're better off with your part time boyfriend. Hand me the remote I wanna watch the last of us!"

"Here." She ponders on what he has said and looked at the time. Her eyes widened as she read '1:01' she had work the next morning and so did Namjoon. "Namjoon why are you even here!"

"Rents due."

-

The next morning was nice. It was the onset of fall and fall break for most young kids. So the cafe wasn't that busy. She set the mood of the cafe putting some lofi music on and welcomed her employees. The day was nice. Nobody called out and everything seemed to be unproblematic until her usual customer stumbled in.

This time besides his cargo pants he was in something more professional. A white button down that revealed a tiny part of his toned chest and grey slacks. Probably because of his new promotion. Everyone fawned over him today. Today was different ... somebody was alongside his hip.

A woman with her hair up in a bun. She wore a mini black flowy dress with business heels and lucky for Areum she knew exactly who this middle aged women was.

"Emma?"

Emma smiled at her "long time no see." Emma was the favorite in her dad's company. She held a much higher authority than Areum will ever. She has her PHD in buisness and yes she was an older girl. In her late 30s which made Areum even more curious why the hell Hoseok would choose her out of everyone

No

No

No

She will not get involved. She doesn't care who Hoseok lays his beautiful brown eyes on. "Long time no see to you." She smiled. Emma excused herself to use the bathroom as Hoseok just stares at her, waiting for her to say something. Areum sighed "your usual?"

"Mhm." Was his response but this time he whipped out his card.

"I didn't know you knew Emma." Areum tried to crack the awkwardness flowing around the air. It was almost painful to her. "Well what do I know huh" she chuckled.

Hoseok remained silent for a bit "you didnt?"

"..." what was that supposed to mean? Of course she didn't. "Of course not." She chuckled "you're just my customer, how would I know."

Chill Areum it's not a huge deal she thought.

He sighed and put his card back into his wallet "you know. If you wanted to know me you could've asked."

"what."

Emma then returns. "Oo! And this" She adds a cake pop to the table "I'll be in the car honey." And then walks away.

Areum waits until she walked away to clear her throat "well mister jung... it's hard to not be curious when a customer walks into your store everyday and orders nothing but a black coffee."

"Whats wrong with black coffee?"

She was thrown off and hoseok just smirks. "If you are that curious about me Areum I'd rather you not stalk my page." He pays for the cake pop. She was out of words because he was right but at the same time it was so embarrassing to get confronted about it. "How did you even know.."

"Spygirl360? You couldn't of made things less obvious. Your number is linked with your account so it shows you. I'm sure that like on my dad's buisness promotion post was an accident eh?"

Areum was silent, twiddling her fingers. He caught her. Now she's wishing he'd just leave "look, would you stop taunting me about it i understand that you're mad.. I'm s-"

"I never said I was mad. Here."

"Whats this?"

"My number. Call me sometimes.. with that he walked away like nothing ever happened. Damn you Hoseok.

-

The days are long and hard. Ever since the encounter with Hoseok he hasn't been coming into her coffee shop anymore. She felt like Joe Goldberg and even her boyfriend couldn't fill her empty void of curiosity but on the bright side it was their week together finally. Areum was at the store picking out only the freshest wine. She didn't reach out to Hoseok because why would she. She had a wonderful boyfriend. Jimin

She knew him every since they were kids and once they were of age both their parents set them up together. Because they were destined. The agreement was to get married by 30 and they'd have a set life with sufficient funds supported by each of their families. They weren't 30 yet but it was fastly approaching. Jimin came from a rich family. Much richer than Areum's. Some days it felt like they didn't agree among anything. His opinions were always one sided, he was always right but other days of was as if he was the happiest man on earth able to give her anything except sexual intimacy. They both never felt that way towards each other but tonight

Tonight Areum hoped to change that. She wanted to get rid of that void in her stomach. She wanted to try something exciting for the first time in her life so she wanted to take Freys advice to get laid. She threw on her red fenty under her short white dress. Jimin was supposedly already at her house just waiting on her.

"Long time no see." A deep voice approached behind her

Oh no, it was him. The man she's been trying to keep out of her head the entire time. She looked at him "hi."

"Why are you dressed so fancy today?" He walked closer to her "and where are your pearls?" Very close to her and reached for the whiskey above her. She blushed and finally stuttered out "i-I have a date actually!"

Hoseok let out a small laugh "oh?"

"Mhm!" For some reason she felt the urge to somewhat prove to him that she isn't some girl who stalks people all day and reads smut. No! She's definitely not.

"Well if you're looking to get laid that's not gonna get the job done." He took the alcohol put of her hand.

"Yah!" She whined "I'm not... I'm.. we're just gonna chill?"

"Well your fuck me dress says otherwise."

"Excuse me?"

"Look if you're looking to get laid miss innocent I prefer you buy this one." He hands her a bottle of liquor. "Mix it in some orange juice if you can't handle your alcohol." Areum takes the bottle from his hands in disbelief how blunt he was... he wasn't wrong.

"Bye miss Bailey." With that he was on his way. Areum shakes her head from her recent encounter then goes to grab a bottle of orange juice. "Screw you Jung Hoseok." How did he even know her last name?

Once she makes it home she heard squeaking of some sort. "What the..." maybe a fossit is broken or something? "Jimin?" She shouts. She sets her bags down and walks closer to the room. "Jimin!?"

The sound became more clear. A horrible melancholy of his moans mixed with some other girls. "What the hell!" She pulls the sheets up and what she saw shocked the living hell out of her

"FREY?"

That night was a blur. Yelling things out that she didn't even know she had in her mind. As if she turned into a whole nother being. Saying things she'd never say. She threw stuff around her house as her eyes flooded with tears. Her body was on auto pilot but her emotions were on a high. All for a bunch of "how could you" ,"I thought you loved me" , all for Jimin to say it was all a font and Frey to quietly get her stuff and leave. It was too much to take in

That night Areum sat on her living room floor, surrounded by glass thinking this was never what she wanted. What Jimin said "all of it was fake. We never loved eachother. " was true but Areum didn't want to believe that. It wasn't supposed to turn out this was. That night she had drowned herself in whiskey and picked up her phone

She had called Hoseok because why the not? There was a silence before he spoke "Areum?"

"Hey! Wanna come over?" Her words slurred.

On the other end Hoseok had just gotten out of bed. He was just in grey joggers and nothing else and when he heard Areums voice he knew automatically something was wrong. She spoke again "I wanna know more about! Ow!" She shouts then giggles. Hoseok sighed and rubs his eyes. "Areum... send me your address."

When he finally arrived he could see Areum with multiple cuts along her thighs. Her dress was rolled up and it seemed that the glass shards on the floor graced her smooth legs. He quickly picks up Areum from the floor. Her drunken state couldn't feel the pain, she just giggled when she saw Hoseok. "Mister Jung is here."

He sat her on the bed. "Areum look at me." He held her droopy face and paid attention to her to see if she was alright. Areum just laughs "no man has ever held me like that...:

He lets her face go gently and gets a first aid kit she had in the bathroom. He's been in this situation one too many times to know what to do. He sits on the bed and places Areums legs in his thighs. Taking his time time to treat them efficiently. She gasps at the alcohol stinging her skin but blushes at the proximity he was to her.

She had pretty thighs but it pained him to see the cuts on them. He knew her

Areum Bailey, 23, her father always talks about how good she is and how excellent she is at owning her small cafe alongside her supporting now ex boyfriend, Jimin. He follows her recent posts on instagram and he even knew her before she even opened the shop. He always saw her at Myrion. Always admired how outgoing she was, her smile, and her cute little mistakes. A girl who was the definition of successful in her parents eyes. Something Hoseok could never be but he knew there was a part in her that wasn't so innocent and he wanted to dimish her disguise so badly, tear her down, and see what she's hiding

But she didn't deserve that. Not by him. That's what he thought until he saw her in this state. He always visited her cafe to support her cause he has always admired her. He was just not good with his words.

"So I heard you were a bad boy!" She blurts. "Like a drug dealer ! How exciting! " hoseok looked at her, all his thoughts stopped. "I've always wanted to do something naughty"

"Im sure youve heard a lot of things aboht me." He finishes bandaging her legs "and you miss perfect." He gently pinned her down to the bed. Both of her wrist trapped with his hands "what are you hiding?" With that he took his things and left her in bed.

"I..." She could feel herself slowly drifting off in a haze.

-

Areum woke up the next morning with a major headache. She groans loudly and helps herself up. She simply couldn't remember anything that happened last night... why was her room so trashed. She lifted all the thick covers from her body. "What the?" Why were her legs wrapped in white bandages. She carefully got out of bed and looked around. Her door was closed. She looked in her bathroom mirror to see her makeup smudged and her hair a mess. "Yikes... goddamm did I fight a bear or something?" She turns the shower on and freshens up, letting the hot droplets of water cleanse her skin.

Once she goes in front of the mirror she trues to recollect what happened to her that night. She picks her makeup up and fixes herself. Molding herself into an acceptable image. She looks at herself one last time before going to her dresser. She didn't have work today so she opted for just a oversized black t shirt. She took her dress off in front of her vanity just to be revealed with some very...very. revealing lingerie. Then it hits her.

"Areum?" Her door slides open. It was Hoseok, she quickly covers herself and blurts "did we do anything!"

Hoseok eyes her body. Even though she tried to cover herself up her vanity reveals her backside which Areum is quick to notice. "H-Hoseok!" Hoseok laughed a bit and closed the door, not answering her question.

"Oh my god ,oh my god ,oh my god." She repeats as she quickly takes her lingerie off and changes her clothes. She pulled on some pajama pants and quickly made her way to Hoseok. He was on his way out. "Nuh uh!" She blocks the door. "What the hell happened last night!"

"I dunno princess you tell me." he hummed

She looked at him "no.. no we.." and then she looked around the house. "I broke up with Jimin.."

"Mhm."

"But why are you here. And why was I" her hands swiftly went to her head. She groans as banging pain inflamed. "Whats going on." She whined.

Hoseok sighed as he looked at the time. It was time for hom to go to his job, his father, forced him into working. It wasn't like he wanted that promotion. That time he was promoted his father found out he was dealing drugs in college. Something that he's ashamed of ever since but he did it because he needed the money and he'd do it again in a heart beat.

He was everything his father never wanted...

He sighed as he took Areum by the shoulders leading her to her couch. He picked up most of the glass that night but he fell asleep to finish. He needed to stay and make sure she was alright.

"Sit down." He gets her a glass of water and some pills " look. I don't know what happened all that well but you called me and yoh were flat out drunk I'm guessing because you broke up with Jimin and you didn't mix your alcohol." He sighed.

"And I called you." Everything is slowly hitting her. She remembers what she told him that night and she could feel her heart going down to her stomach. "I'm so sorry." She runs her hands threw her hair and throws her head back on the couch.

"For what?" Hoseok stared at her "all you did was call me a drug dealer. "

"Augh." She drags as she fakes a bang on her head. "I'm sorry for that too! I." She finally gets the courage to look at him. "Look. I've just always been curious about you.. and I've heard things... I was just too scared to ask."

He looks into her eyes, he could tell she was speaking from her heart. "If you must know." He fixes Areums hair "I was dealing at a time in my life. My biological mother needed surgery and my father denied to supply. So I had too."

Areum listened intendly and Hoseok chuckled a bit "everything you heard about me was probably true. I'm not your perfect suit and tie guy." His eyes drift her her lips and defined collarbone. "The only reason I accepted that damn job was because of my mom. Her dying wish was for me to accept it. After all that she still died."

Areum heard him, she really did. He wasn't afraid to go against anyone, even though it was a bad choice it was his. He had his profound own freedom and achieved his own things... even though his ways were twisted but everytime he let out a small laugh she could feel her heart beating a mile a minute. She could feel his eyes mentally undressing her and even when it was silent it wasnt..

"But you. You are little miss innocent right?" He teased "you've never done anything that goes against what your parents say. Always in the modest outfits, cleanest makeup, even the way you speak is proficient"

"I..." Areum sighed, she didn't know of that was a compliment or. She could feel her cheeks getting red again. She hasn't experienced her own life yet.

"It's cute..." He kept caressing her face and lifted her chin. Yes, she still had an agonizing headache but it was as if everything stopped. "I'm guessing you called me because you wanted to change that?"

She was speechless but Hoseok was doing all the speaking for her "thats why I'm here... right princess?"

She meekly nodded her head, a part of her feeling guilty to admitting something she denied to heavily before.

"I will... but for right now I need you to rest." He picks her up and places her in bed. "Goodnight Areum."

That day over. Hoseok left but now she's waiting for him in a flowey lilac dress at a fancy rooftop restaurant she picked out. She really wanted to impress him today. She didn't see him at the shop so her anticipation to see him today was super high. Whenever she saw him it was as if she had a freedom. She chose him.. not anyone else. She did.

He finally shows up wearing a loose white button down and dress pants. "What a fancy place." He looks down at Areum and raises a brow.

As they sat it was silent. A lot of small talk as if they were just... buisness partners. Areum sipped her red wine.. maybe this wasn't gonna work. She couldn't think of a single word to say to him. Hoseok laughed a bit and got up. She finally spoke "are you leaving?"

"You clearly don't have good taste in restaurants so yeah." He extended his hand to her. "Lets go. I know a place not far from here."

She smiles as she took his hand. The elevator door opened for them and they were the only two going down. "I like your pearls." Hoseok complimented.

"Th-thank you." She gets the courage to compliment him back "I like your uh.. jawline."

There was a silence and they both laughed. The rest of the night was better.

Turned out the lady with a PhD owned a small cafe down the street that Hoseok helps out with. The waitress hands them their menus. Hoseok sits right by Areum, thigh on thigh as he points out to his favorites in the menu. He was very animated but not unnatural. She really loved getting to know him. His hands touched her as he leaned closer. "Yahhh." She blushed and giggles feeling his breath on her neck.

"You're such a hopeless romantic." He teased her more.

The night went on and they just visited local shops. Areum bought stupid souvenirs the small town had to offer. "Look! Imma a potato! Im your potato!" She turned to Hoseok with a potato hat and Hoseok smiled at the cashier a little embarrassed she had said it so loudly. "Okay Areum, let's go."

The night ended, it was very late. Areum texted Namjoon not to barge in tonight because she had something in mind... Hoseok had walked with her to her front door. He rested his shoulder on her door frame as he said his last goodbyes. "It was nice seeing you tonight. We should do this again."

"Mhm." Areum really couldn't focus on whatever this man was saying. He pushed all th right buttons today and his deep voice only pushed them in deeper. He continued on "so I guess I'll see you mnhm-!"

She couldn't help herself. She took him by the collar and gave him a deep kiss. She never had sex before but she was a good kisser... well.. at least she thought so.

Hoseok moaned as his firm being hands grasped her waist, pulling her closer. "Mm what a naughty girl we have?" He slightly pushed her into her house. Closing the door behind them he kissed her against the wall. Their tongues waltzing inside one another's mouths.

His hands ran up her curves , eager to just slip underneath her dress. He felt her dirty moans vibrating in his lips. "I wanna remember this." He smirks as he picks her up. He placed her on her kitchen counter and grabbed her thighs, intensly staring her down. His manhood was already hard and quite frankly, he's been hard ever since the date

A similar stare as hw had before in the coffee shop but more intimidating. "I'm gonna fuck you until you can't walk anymore princess " his hands ran up her breast as his lips pranced around her neck finally sucking her sweet spot.

Kissing turned into stripping and Areum revealed to him a new black piece of lingerie, "mmyou were anticipating this?"

"Maybe.." areum giggled making hoseok laugh a little. She finally spoke again "but... I... never done anything like this before."

"Really?" Hoseok looked at her shocked

"Uh.. is that bad. I uhm-"

"No its just surprising. Your so beautiful..." He kissed her lips sweetly before continuing "if anytime you want me to stop or slow down." He kissed up her cheek "just say so baby. I'll go slow."

"Mhm" areum moaned.

Hoseok stopped and lookes into her eyes with a little chuckle "what did I say?"

"Hoseok.." Areum whines from his sudden stop.

"Come on Areum this is serious." He hummed and held her chin up so she could look directly in his eyes

"If I want you to stop... I just say so."

Hoseok nods and then touches her gently, throwing Areum way back.

He wanted to crack her code. She was more than what met the eye.. he just knew it. The night was fantastic towards both of them. They both wanted eachother. Areum wanting to have freedom like Hoseok and Hoseok wanted to do at least something right in his life like Areum but there was more to meet the eye in both of their lives...

As they gently carresed eachother in bed, taking care of eachother after their session they craved more.

There had to be more...

_

Authors note: and I definitely have more for this "series" if you're interested give me a shout out! The coming chapters will definitely be more detailed on the characters backstories and even more psychologically thrilling.

[lokis-dark-queen]

Secret Money

CEO Loki/Fem Assistant OC AU

Multi-Chapter Fic in progress.

Notes: I first posted this fic in 2020 on AO3. After almost three years (I’m sorry to my long time readers by the way) I went back and reread the first two chapters and holy smokes dude! They were a mess! I fixed them recently and now I feel much better about it. The recent chapters are certainly a higher quality then the older ones, but I think it’s a fun story either way. I’m posting the first chapter here as a little sneak peek for my tumblr people with a link to the entire fic on AO3.

Content warnings: Eventual smut, Slow Burn, Age Gap, Uneven Power dynamic, Alcohol and Substance Abuse, Loki is an asshole, original characters.

Read the whole thing on AO3

Chapter 1: Fate is a Sadist

Hannah holds the pieces of mail between her fingers. Bills, and they are very overdue. 

“I just don’t know if I can pay rent this month.” Hannah tried to explain to her roommate, “This tuition shit is killing me.”

“You’ll be fine girl, I can add some on to my rent.” Her roommate Hazel sympathized with her. 

After getting accepted to her dream college in Los Angeles three years ago, Hannah foolishly thought that her life would be clearer. As if a road would be paved with her bright future ahead. That road turned out to have many cracks and potholes, hell, it probably wasn’t even paved. 

“Are you sure? You did that last month.”

“It’s fine Hannah, trust me.” 

Hannah slumped in her seat, she didn’t feel right having her best friend, who was also a student, help pay for her. 

Growing up in the rundown suburbs of San Francisco, overdue bills and sleepless nights were her childhood. Her parents always wanted to get her out, but they were unable to do so financially. Thankfully, financial aid and small scholarships aided her in her academic career, she made sure to keep her grades high, knowing she would not be able to fully pay her way through. But that given money eventually ran out, and student loans piled high, taking every dollar she had. 

Sometimes she would daydream about being rich. Fancy, tasteful meals, a beautiful house, and no worries. It was an impossible dream of course, she had to intention of being famous despite where she lives, surrounded by Hollywood stars and dreamers who wished to be so. Not to mention she also despised the upper class, most of which were unappreciative of their riches. They do say that money doesn’t buy happiness, but it can ease a few worries. 

The ringing of a bell woke her up from her blissful daydream.

“All right class, make sure to finish the assignment by Monday, it’ll be a big influence on your final grade for the year. Have a good weekend.” 

Standing up from her seat, Hannah collected her books and headed for the door. 

“Any plans tonight girls?” Her friend Anna came up to her and Hazel, the curly redhead wrapped her arms around the two girls. Making Hannah slightly squirm away, her friends knew that she didn’t enjoy being touched, some ignored that, however.  

“I don’t have the cash for a fun Friday night, sorry.” Hannah said, rolling her eyes at the question and trying to get out of the situation. 

“Well what if I told you it was free?” Anna raised her eyebrow in an attempt to convince her cautious friend. 

“Do you have something in mind?” Hazel questioned. 

“Maybe,” She winked, “I’ll tell you in the car.” she giggled and quickly left the lecture hall. 

“I wonder what goes on in her head sometimes.” Hazel pondered. 

“I guess we’ll find out in the car.”

“The suit is a custom tailored Versace piece with velvet lining.” 

“Sounds a bit hot don’t you think? Especially with all of the lights and everything?” 

“Well the ladies will certainly think you are smoking hot sir.” His stylist, Michael winked at him.

“That doesn’t answer my question.” Loki sighed. 

Being one of the richest and most successful men in the world, Loki Laufeyson caught plenty of attention on his own, without a luxury suit. Michael insisted however, claiming that he must look good for the tabloids and websites that would be singing his praises tomorrow, or praying for his downfall. 

“You have been on the list for most eligible bachelors in the world for the past four years. Don’t you think it might be time to think about settling down?” 

“All of the women who want me just want my name or my money, I have to be careful that whatever girl I bring home won’t poison my drink and take my wealth.” 

“The perfect lady will come along soon sir, and she won’t poison your wine. Now, would you like the black tie or the green tie?” 

“I don’t need relationship advice from my stylist; and green.” 

“Good choice.”

“Do I really have to go to this meaningless gala? I donate enough to charity, I don’t need to go to a party for them to tell me to donate more.” 

“It'll make you look good to the public eye, and you need to get out of the house for something other than work.” 

“I need to finish things.” Loki tried to argue.

“Listen, just go there, get your picture taken, make a speech, and then leave”

“It’s not that easy, I’m afraid.”

“It never is, is it?” 

“So what is the plan you have for tonight?” Hannah asked her giddy friend.

“Well, there is a gala thing tonight for all those rich people who claim they donate to charity. It’s on Sunset Boulevard and some big names are gonna be there.”

“What about it? It’s not like we can get in or anything.” Hannah states, wondering what Anna had in mind. 

“That’s why we will sneak in, then we can interview some of the celebs and get a good final grade for our assignment.” 

“Do you have any idea how many people try to sneak into those things? It’s impossible!” Hannah exclaimed, “Why can’t we just interview a local store owner or someone like that for our assignment?” 

“C’mon Hannah, this is our final assignment for the year, then it’s summer break! Don’t you want it to be good?” She pressures Hannah.

“Yes, but we don’t have to sneak into a heavily secured event to get a good grade!” 

“Don’t be such a bummer!” 

“Hey!” Hazel interrupted the girls’ bantering, attempting to be the voice of reason, “If she doesn’t want to do it she doesn’t have to, this whole situation is a bit risky anyway.” 

“But it’ll be fun! And it will make a good story either way.” Anna gives Hannah a playful slap on the shoulder, irking the irritated girl even more.

“Fine” Hannah reluctantly agreed, clenching her jaw in regret of what she just said.

The ride to the gala was long due to the infamous traffic. Hannah was quiet most of the ride, staring out of the window, looking at the flamboyant city outside. Every once in a while she would glance at her friends in the front seat while questioning her life choices.

On the way to the gala the girls made a stop at Hannah and Hazel’s shared apartment to pick up some nicer clothes for the gala. Their intention was to blend in as interviewers, all the girls decided to go for their little black dresses in the closet. None of them owned anything close to professional, or nice for that matter. Hannah only had an old pair of flats for her dress shoes, hoping nobody would notice the seams beginning to tear at the heel.

“We’re here!” Anna said excitedly as she shut off the car.

“The gala is four blocks up the street!” Hannah pointed out.

“Oh, I’m sorry we couldn’t find a perfect parking spot in downtown LA on a Friday while a huge event is going on, princess.” Anna mocks her while fixing her mascara in the rear view mirror, rolling her eyes at Hannah as she did so.

“We’re wearing our clubbing dresses! We don’t fit in anyway!” 

“We’re already late! Let’s go” Hazel yelled to interrupt the argument that was about to take place. The girls quickly rushed out of the car and made their way up to the venue. 

Loki’s limousine slowly drove up to the red carpet where he will be making his entrance. He leaned back in the plush leather seat, one leg draped over the other with his arm resting on the back of the seat. The flash of the paparazzi cameras were bright, even with the heavily tinted windows separating them. Loki sighed and rolled his eyes in annoyance. 

“You don’t seem too happy about all of this,” his assistant Brain noticed as he sat across from him in the limo. 

“This is all so unnecessary, I give my money to these people and they blow it on a lavish party? I’d rather be elsewhere using my time for something important.” 

“This is important. The fact that you are here will improve your image in the media.” Brian attempted to reason with his boss.

“Who cares above what they think of me?” Loki says as he straightens his emerald green tie that he chose earlier. 

“I do-“ 

“We have arrived,” the driver announced.

“Time to shine.” Brian said as he exited the luxury car and opened the door for his boss. 

As soon as Loki stepped out he was immediately met with the flashing cameras and reporters with microphones in his face. 

“Mr. Laufeyson, how does it feel to be here tonight representing your company?” A reporter asked as she put a microphone to his mouth. 

Slightly annoyed at her unmannerly actions he answered her question nevertheless, “It feels great to be here representing Laufeyson industries and all who work with me. We take our charity work very seriously.” 

‘You were just bitching about being here in the car.’ Brian kept himself from rolling his eyes as he recalled their conversation from only a minute ago.

“Ugh! I told you we were late!” Anna exclaimed while jogging towards the event, notebook and small camera in hand. 

The girls followed her to the crowd of people outside trying to get a glimpse of the gala. Spotlights shone up at the sky to announce the presence of wealth and power as those beneath them waited outside, hoping to get a taste of the good life.

“There is no way we can get in there.” Hannah expressed her doubt as she tried to see over the crowd on her tiptoes, her shoe slipping off of her heel as she did so.

“I didn’t know that there would be so many people here!” Anna attempts to make a poorly executed excuse. 

“It’s a celebrity event in Hollywood, of course there is a crowd waiting outside!” Hannah raises her voice in slight anger and speaks over the voices around her. 

While darting their eyes around to find a possible way of entry, Hannah spots a news crew setting up their equipment outside of the side door of the venue. 

“Maybe we could try to sneak in with them.” She subtly points to the crew over her shoulder.

“Well, that is certainly an idea.” Hazel states sarcastically with sarcasm and doubt. 

“And it's the only one we have right now so let’s go!” Anna immediately makes her way over to them as Hazel and Hannah follow closely behind.

There were a lot of people with the news crew, about 20 including reporters, camera men, and tech people. The girls blended in with them posing as interviewers, seemingly going unnoticed by those around them. Everyone was too focused on whatever task they were currently doing to notice.

The group walked over to the back entrance of the building and almost made it in until one of the reporters finally  noticed them. It was only a matter of time before one did so anyway.

“Excuse me, are you girls with us?” She asks, eyes scanning the three girls in front of her intensely. 

Shit.

“Yes!” Anna, who was clearly nervous, spoke up, “Were journalists from the local college here for an assignment.”

“No one told me we would have students with us, where are your badges?” She questioned as she showed her badge attached to the lanyard around her neck. 

“Um, we forgot them.” She stumbled over her poor excuse. 

“Nice try, now get out!” She said as security escorted the disappointed girls to the front of the crowd. 

“Don’t bother trying to come back, or else you girls will be leaving in handcuffs.” The large security man warned.

“Sorry Anna, maybe next time.” Hazel said with a sigh as she patted her disappointed friend on the back.  

“Ugh this is so stupid! Imagine the grade we could get if we had gotten in there!” She stomped her heel onto the cement in a childish manner. Her immaturity caused Hannah to roll her eyes.

“It’s fine Anna, let's go interview the lady at the nail salon.” Hannah suggested as she attempted to pull her upset friend away from the crowd, knowing she would most likely be making a scene soon.

Anna pulled away and yelled, “Fuck you! You caviar eating sons of bitches!” 

“Anna!” 

The crowd laughed at her as she ranted about the upper class and chanted phrases such as “eat the rich” and “down with the patriarchy.” Some of the crowd even joined her, embarrassingly enough for Hannah, who facepalmed with annoyance. Anna always had to be the center of attention, even around celebrities. 

Hazel joined the chant, nudging Hannah along to do so as well. Hannah ignored her as she looked up at the event infront of her. She could recognise some of the faces there, she didn’t care much for them however, not even the raven haired man in the dark suit who was looking over the shoulder of the reporter he was currently speaking with, staring at the worked up crowd. 

Loki smirked in amusement at their chants, he thought they were entertaining. 

“Is it bad that I agree with them?” We whispered to his assistant standing next to him.

“Oh stop it!” Brian snapped back, hoping the reporter didn’t hear his boss’ remark. 

The crowd wasn’t too far from the event, they were held back by barricades and security, but they could still be seen by Loki. Among the rowdy crowd he spotted a woman who was up front, examining the situation around her; it seemed like she wasn’t too interested in being there either. She wore a short, black dress that had obviously seen a few drunken nights with the almost tattered condition it was in. She looked at her friend before looking back at the venue, unintentionally making eye contact with Loki as she did so. 

“Quite the crowd outside.” The interviewer pointed out. 

“Yes, quite.” Loki’s eyes linger on the girl for a little longer, even after the short lived eye contact was over. 

Eventually Hannah and her friends were kicked off the premises. She was just happy to finally be out of there, away from the loud and sweaty crowd. The girls decided to head to one of the many bars in the city.

“I can’t believe how much they charge for drinks here!” Hannah exclaimed as she looked at the drink menu above the bar. 

“It’s all on me girls,” Anna said as she gave the bartender her card and he made three shots of tequila for the girls, “drink up!” 

One shot became two, then three, then she forgot why she was drinking in the first place. Anna was once again dancing around in a desperate attempt to gain attention from the men around her, which she was unfortunately succeeding at. Hazel was in the bathroom, the tequila most likely coming back to haunt her. 

Hannah stumbled outside to try to get some fresh air on the crowded sidewalk outside of the bar.  She stumbled down the sidewalk, obviously intoxicated to everyone around her. She has no idea what overcame her, she normally would never leave her friends while she was in such a state. But they didn’t seem to care too much right now.  

She stopped and tried to steady herself on a light pole, the ground spun beneath her as she poorly attempted to walk straight. After a few seconds she felt collected enough and decided to go back to the bar and borrow Hazel’s phone to get a ride home. Just as she turned around, she accidentally stumbled into a man, causing her to accidentally fall against him. 

“Watch it!” He said pushing her off of him and into oncoming traffic on the street next to her. Hannah didn’t even have time to process what was happening before headlights blinded her. She saw white before everything went dark.  

The car that was heading towards her thankfully stopped but she still passed out from the alcohol, mixed with fear. 

Hannah didn’t wake up until morning, her vision was blurry as she sat up from the bed, shielding her eyes from the sliver of light that came through the curtains. 

The more she came to, the more she realized that she was not in her apartment. She looked down and saw that she was still in her dress from last night, her shoes were placed neatly by the bed. Her hands splayed out on the smooth, warm sheets beneath her, she looked down to investigate. 

“Is this silk?”

[slifarianhawk]

Chapter 11: Truth

A week had passed with ease and thanks to the Angelis virus any sign of harm to my body had vanished. The day came when I was supposed to complete my first set of missions for Wesker. The escort detail would be a walk in the park and the b.o.w. hunt even more so. The thing I was worried about was gathering Intel on the B.S.A.A., that alone I was worried about. Chris knows what I look like as do the B.S.A.A. higher ups.

I had just finished assembling my med kit with my viral stablizer securely stored away when a forceful knock rang from the door.

''Come in." I said pulling my hair in to a low pony tail.

"Alistar are you ready to go?" Steve asked with a black backpack on. He looked like a college student about to visit his parents.

"Almost, I have to prepare a few rounds of viral stablizer. I have a horrible feeling that something bad will happen." I stated.

"You seem a tad paranoid, I thought you were a cool collected killer like Wesker." Steve joked.

"Haha yea no, I can't ignore my instincts in situations like this." I sighed, "I'm having the same feeling from when the Russia base was shut down and we all know what happened that night.".

"That bad huh?" Steve said shifting his weight from one leg to the other.

"Yea, but oh well we are already running behind because of me ." I stocked my herbs, viral stablizer cache and lifted my brief case, "let's go.".

Steve started out the door and I followed  in suit. The halls seemed lighter than normal as if the thought of the outside world brightened my view of the rotting hellhole I'm in. The halls were filled with soldiers and researchers rushing to their proper stations.  This was almost like my time in Russia.

I let out a small chuckle when we went to the air strip. That was a big fucking mistake.

"And why are you laughing?!" A shrill female voice broke the peaceful silence, just my damn luck.

"Ah Ms. Gionne, how are you this morning?" Steve asked politely.

"Terrible, Albert's pda alarm went of too early and he overdosed on his serum. He can barely move at the moment due to the migraine!" She screeched.

"That's why she's here instead of him." A weaselly voice piped up, it was Irving.

"You must be Mr. Irving, We have never been formally introduced. " I extended my hand, "My name is Alistar Lancaster, I'll be the head of your security detail during the duration of your transaction."

"Tis' a pleasure, you seem very familiar. Did we pass in the hallway at some point?" He asked shaking my hand.

"No sir, I'm afraid that I'm normally in the training rooms or in the research labs. I don't have the authorization to roam around the base." I now ever so slightly  to sell the loyal lackey act.

At this point Excella is turning a deep shade of red, "Irving quit making friends with the "help" and load up the plane. Also Irving be sure to study your notes on the buyer, we don't want a repeat of last time."

"Of course Excella and I do expect compensation for my services if things go according to plan." He stated, turning around grabbing a crate.

"Mr. Burnside Wesker requests you keep an eye on your charge the full time. He doesn't want anything to happen to "it". He has spent a lot of assets keeping it in working condition. I have  special orders for "Ms. Lancaster" from Albert so the "special operative"  will need to stay behind for a bit."

Yet again this woman was making me lose my temper. Not even speaking of me as if I was a living being but a piece of property. I was pissed. I motioned Steve to go on as I knew I'd be fine.

Steve nodded, "if you say so boss, I'll get that Mr. Irving.".

"Right." He squeaked out feeling the tension in the air.

Once they hurried off I turned towards Excella, "What are my orders?"

As soon as I asked I felt a sharp sting across my face, "I don't know who you think you are barging into my world and tearing it down but be sure of this you bitch. If you even step out of line once I'll make sure you never see the light of day again."

"So that is what this is about....heh what a fool." I chuckled again.

"Again with the laugh! What is so damn funny?" She glared daggers into me and slapped me across the face again.

I place my thumb and index fingers over my open eyes and removed my contacts and let my eyes flare the ice cold blue, "What's so funny you ask, is the fact that you think you can actually do something to me. I am here of my own volition to serve as my teachers pawn  in her stead. Unlike you, who is just trying to get in to the pants of power hungry sadist. So from now on stay out of my way."

I cracked my neck and smirked staring straight in to her eyes "One last thing lay your disgusting hands on me again I'll send you to your grave, stupid girl."

She scuttled back shaking ever so slightly, "Oh look I need to get back to tending to Albert."

She ran off. I placed my contacts back in and headed towards the plane. I have some calls I need to make.

[Weskers P.O.V]

I was sitting at my desk clutching my head, the pain was very disorienting. Exella left to see Ms. Lancaster and Mr. Irving. Damnable technology, I knew I should of programmed it myself. I looked up to look at  the cc TV footage to see Excella giving my orders to Mr. Burnside and Mr. Irving.

Shortly after Excella arrived Irving and Steven started to head towards the plane. Steven stopped for a short moment only for Ms. Lancaster motioning for him to continue. I  found this action peculiar as I had no special order for her. That was when Ms. Gionne slapped Alistar.

I watched the screen with intrigue as she was struck again. Much to my interest Ms. Lancaster didn't flinch instead her stance became firm and her posture became intimidating. She appeared to touch her face and said something to Excella.

She backed up terrified of Ms. Lancaster, almost falling back. Ms. Lancaster simply turned around and marched to the plane pulling out her PDA and mine started to ring. Growling at the sound I answered quickly.

"I take it you just saw what your assistant tried to pull correct." Ms Lancaster's voice spoke with authority.

"Yes I did, tell me did she give my orders to your group?" I asked rubbing my temple.

"She gave orders to Steve and Mr. Irving. Did you have a message for me or did she lie to me as well?" Ms. Lancaster asked with a serious  tone of voice.

"Yes I did I wanted to warn you the area of the exchange has been infested with B.S.A.A. agents. I'm sure you understand what that means." I stated even more infuriated.

"Becareful on over dosing on that damn medicine, I don't want to see you becoming a destabilized mess." She chided, "Keep it up and you turn in to a beast like Colonel Surgei.".

Click

She released the call and I sat the pda on my desk. Why the hell would she care about my health. It's not like I give a rat's ass about her.

Knock knock

"Albert it's Excella, may I enter?" She asked.

"Enter." I groaned internally, nothing but annoyances today.

[Main pov]

It was about mid flight when I stood from my seat. I had to see what arrangements the Mr. Irving had made for our lodgings. I walked back to where Steve and Irving were sitting.

"Mr. Irving." I stated.

"Please let's dispense with the formalities please call me Ricardo." He said smiling.

"Alright Ricardo, I was wondering what lodgings were set up for us." I asked.

"Normally Excella sets that up but she didn't this time. She said that "that filthy mutt" doesn't deserve to use my connections. I hate to be blunt, but I believe she means you." He sighed pointing at me.

"I don't know why that woman has always had it out for me." I shrugged "But no matter, I can make  arrangements for lodgings with a call. I have a place in my mind I'll inform the pilot."

I pulled out my phone and stepped into the restroom. I pulled up the contact and dialed the number.

Ring ring.

"Pheonix Core lodge, Archer speaking." Came through the phone.

"Juna, I need a favor." I spoke gently not to be heard by others.

"TABITHA WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN I'VE BEEN TRYING TO CONTACT." The receiver rang out.

"Archer the plan is in motion and we can discuss details after I arrive. Right now I need my room set up, well as two suites. The Pheonix core lodge will be hosting a future ally tonight." That cut him off and there was silence, "Juna are you still?"

He let out a heavy sigh,"Yes I am, I was just worried about you. I'll have the rooms set with in the next few hours. A bit of warning there is a massive hunting group who have been causing an issue about the off limits grounds and I'm not done lecturing you."

"Thanks June. I'll see you later and tell those idiot's the owner will be there shortly to discuss the matter." I said hanging up.

I pulled of my over shirt revealing the extensive scarring. With a sigh and a roll of the neck I redid my hair. I washed my hands and exited the bathroom. Steve greeted me outside the restroom.

"You ok I thought I heard screaming in there." Steve asked.

"Yea it was one of my contacts, I kind of fell out of contact do to starting to work for Wesker." I rubbed the back of my head.

"Oh that's understandable, did you make sleeping and housing arrangements?"

"Yes I did, the Pheonix Core Lodge. It was a passion project of Tabitha.  She said if she ever got out of the umbrella scene, she'd run a hunting lodge. I'll have the drivers take us once we land."

"That sounds good to me, Hey question." He  said.

"Yea what's wrong?" I asked.

Steve smiled and pulled out a deck of cards, "Do you know how  to play speed?".

"Your on." I chuckled and we started playing.

[Weskers P.O.V.]

I was listening to Tabithas recordings. It detailed the year before I joined the management training facility.  She was quite solemn and  rarely did much.   The few times she spoke with Markus it was quite interesting what he was interested in. From cell decay to certain chemical compounds that causes a boost in neuro activity. 

"At the start of the next year, everything started to rapidly change for me." Her recorded voice sighed, "I was sitting in class when Dr. Markus walked in and introduced two people, one was with him and the other showed up just after Markus had started. Their names were Albert Wesker and William birkin. William seemed layed back more go with the flow type and Albert was  very stiff with an almost by the book personality, polar opposites.  Dr. Markus had me be a mentor to William. He was a kind man and very smart. Dr. Markus decided to mentor Wesker. Did I know then I would marry Albert about seven years later? No, if I were to be honest I thought that he would be a major hard ass and a stick in the mud. I was definitely right on one of those. " She spoke sounding nostalgic.

I heard a metal door slam, "Agent 748, come its time for your injections." A familiar heavily Russian Male voice  said.

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE BEFORE I RIP OUT YOUR THOAT YOU DEPLORABLE SHIT STAIN MAN." Tabitha shrieked so loud it  distorted the audio and made my head throb.

"Its been two months, if you don't start following my orders I'll have Ivan throw you in to the testing room." Surgei said

"GO AHEAD AND TRY I'LL KILL THE DAMN THING IF IT LAYS A FINGER ON ME." She shouted again, I heard a grunt on the recording and the metal door slam again.

"God I despise that man. Once I figure a way out of this mess I'm going to try and find way to fix my family. My son, my daughter, I regret not raising them every day and yes I had kids Wesk. In '82 and in '92n and yes they were yours. I couldn't abort them and what's more I wanted a family.  However the would of never been the case, Spencer  he found out and tried to have me transfer the custody to him both times. I'm sorry to drop the bomb on that but seeing as how I'm more than likely bound for a shallow unmarked grave here I'd rather be honest with who was listening." She started crying and I was at loss for words.

"I couldn't have umbrella have a hold of my kids.   Look what happened with Sherry! Her own father tried to kill her when he mutated! I'm sorry Albert but you were always so wrapped around Spencer's finger and I was terrified. I was a damn fool. I found her, our daughter and I can't bringing myself to face it. I know I won't be forgiven but at least I've finally been honest even if these are just recordings on a private drive." There was banging on the metal door and a sigh, "I need to end this here for now. Time to be cut open .......again." .

"Recording ended." The robotic voice said.

I was silent, the weight of what was said was extremely heavy. I quickly accessed the files Tabitha had Alistar present me with. I couldn't find any files with her name on it. Then the Colonels voice rang in my head. In the recording  he called her agent 748.

I typed it in and it pulled up the Angelis main test subject file. The title was Arch-Angel. It detailed an experiment involving U.B.C.S. agent 748. The virus was a different strand of the progenitor virus that had extreme mutation risk.   It was noted on the file that those who had children had a higher compatibility do to an increased amount of CPH4 able to increase cell energy. The subject had two kids known to the umbrella corporation. One was found and measures have been taken to obtain, target is a 16 year old female with a small family in Russia.

Notes added by Colonel Surgei, looking under the section I saw something that made my blood  boil. It stated.

"If only comrade Wesker could see his blushing bride now. I complied with Lord Spencer's request and he was correct. Her having his kids showed she had just as much promise as him. She bonded with the new progenitor strain even better than I did with the T- Virus. The daughter is a more than like candidate as well. Lord Spencer's said to call the new virus Angelis, as even gods need servants. I have to be sure  to clip this Angel's wings. Can't have this one fly away again my bed will be so cold. " I heard his voice in my head as I read. The tone mocking me and filled me with rage.

I stood up and in a blind rage punched a hole in the desk. This was what Spencer had planned for her. A death with out peace, with out resolution.

One that I brought her too. I tried but for the first time is a very very long time I, a man ment to be a god cried.

This is what umbrella made us. It just proves to me more what I have to do. I will cleanse this filthy planet of all the undesirable garbage.

Maybe then and only then can I make this guilt go away.

[strawberrymilk-sunshine]

Your only family

I really like platonic yanderes, there's so much potential for both cuteness and horror! Like, have a mother be like "I love you so much I'll kill everyone who hurts you!" and then have someone like a toxic friend or partner hurt you and later have the mom covered in blood and say "Are you ok? They didn't hurt you too badly, did they? Don't worry, I'll always protect you." it can be GREAT if done right.

So uh, on that note... platonic yandere Leech twins x child reader :)

Warning(s): platonic yandere behaviour, mentioned kidnapping and starvation, serious injury, heavy manipulation near the end, stockholm syndrome (or at least smth similar to it)

Jade was on one of his mountain hikes, an often peaceful activity. He observes the land animals, collects mushrooms and sometimes flowers, explores caves, talks with other hikers if he ever runs into any... it's so nice.

Today, he's found an old cottage. He knocked on the door, and waited for a response. When he knocked once more, the door opened on it's own. Looking inside the cottage, it looked like it's been abandoned for a while.

Jade looked around inside the abandoned cottage, hoping to find something interesting. And, he certainly did find something interesting... just not what he expected to find in an abandoned cottage.

He heard a small child crying. Confused, he walked into the room he heard the crying from. And there, he saw a ribbon eel merchild, stuck in a small fish tank.

You were all alone in an unfamiliar world. You were scared, and hungry, and cramped in a small tank. You wanted so badly to be saved...

"Excuse me, merchild?" Somebody spoke. "Over here."

You looked over to the direction of the voice. It's a human with teal hair and two different coloured eyes. He smiled politely when he saw you looking at him.

"Ah, hello! May I ask what you're doing here?" He asked. "Are you in danger?"

You didn't want to speak to him, but you did nod your head.

"I see. I assumed so." He sighed. "How hard is it for certain humans to realize it's unethical to capture merfolk? Here, child, I'll bring you somewhere safe."

He pulled you out of the small tank. It was so tight and you were so squished in there that it made a *pop!* sound when you were pulled out.

"Oh my, what a long tail." He said, seeing just how long you were now that you were out of the tank. "You're a ribbon eel?" He asked, and you nodded. "Ah, so you're a type of moray. How interesting! Would you mind telling me your name?" You shook your head. "No worries then, child. I won't force you to tell me anything you don't want to."

He carried you with him down the mountain through the forest.

"Have you heard of Night Raven College?" He asked. "I'm a student there. You've heard of the Great Seven, haven't you? I'm a part of the dorm that was based upon the benevolence of the Sea Witch. As you can see, I'm quite benevolent myself!"

You didn't really care about what he was saying.

He carried you through a mirror, and you had another long 'conversation' while walking. He carried you through yet another mirror, and you'd finally arrived at the destination.

"This is the lounge of Octavinelle." He told you, sitting down cross legged on the floor. Then, another person entered. He looked nearly identical to the one holding you. "Hello, Floyd."

"Uhh... what ya got there, Jade?"

"Things I foraged on my hike!"

"Oh, reeeeeeeeeally?" Floyd asked, jokingly. He crouched down in front of you and Jade, and pinched your cheek. "You're meaning to tell me you foraged this li'l pipsqueak? What, is this some kind of rare new species of mushroom, or something~?"

"I-I'm not a mushroom!" You told him.

"Woah! It speaks! Jade, you found a talking mushroom?!" Floyd playfully asked. "I had no idea mushrooms could speak! That's a wonder of biology!"

"I said I'm not a mushroom!" You laughed.

"Are you suuuure? Because that's EXACTLY what a talking mushroom trying to take over the world would say!" Floyd poked your forehead a few times. "What evil plans do you have stewing in that mycelium of yours~?"

"I'm a ribbon eel!" You insisted, still laughing.

"Hmm..." Floyd stared at you. "Ya know what? Now that you say it, you do kinda look like a ribbon eel! Hey, Jade, what's with the smallfry?"

"I found them in a fish tank in an abandoned cottage during my hike today." Jade explained. "They informed me they were in danger, so I brought them back here to stay with us."

"Ooh! I've always wanted to be an older brother! I never got to with you." Floyd pouted. "Hey, little mushroom, what's your name?"

You were still a bit hesitant to tell them your name. Even if they seemed nice, overall you still had no idea who they were.

"Not talkin', huh?" Floyd asked. "Well that's fiiiiiine... I guess you must not mind me callin' you little mushroom, eh? 'Cause I'll call you that until I know what your name is..."

"Um... i-it's (Y/N)." You admitted. "My name's (Y/N)."

"(Y/N), I promise you my brother and I will find your parents." Jade told you. "But until then, you're safe with us."

Just then, another person entered the room. He had confusing grey-purple hair, blue eyes, and glasses.

"Jade, Floyd, what is that?" He asked.

"This is (Y/N). They're a ribbon eel merchild I found in a fish tank in an abandoned cottage on my hike this morning." Jade explained.

"Pleeeeease can we keep them, Azul??? Can we can we can we???" Floyd asked, as if you were some stray kitten he'd found.

"What?! No! They should be returned to their family as soon as possible, they can't stay with us!" Azul yelled. "We're teenagers, we can't take care of a child! Even if we could, they can't stay in Octavinelle! We have to manage the Mostro Lounge! We have to-"

"Do you hear something, Jade?" Floyd asked.

"Hm... no, nothing whatsoever, Floyd." Jade responded.

"Oh, Great Seven, I hate you two sometimes..." Azul sighed in frustration. He sighed, knowing that arguing will get him nowhere. "Fine. You can keep them in the dorm. But they're your responsibility, understand?.

"Thaaaaanks, Azul~!"

"We intend to take good care of them.

"I also expect you two to continue working your shifts at the Lounge. I'm not giving you indefinite time off for you to find this kid's parents."

"I have a solution to that." Jade smiled. "If there's one thing I know people find cute, it's children in fancy outfits. (Y/N) would be great for business!"

"...huh? Are you suggesting I employ a child?" Azul asked. "What a ridiculous idea.

"Oh Great Seven, this was an amazing idea!"

Jade was right. Just give you a potion to turn you human, a few lessons on how to use your legs properly, and a child-sized Octavinelle uniform, and just like that business skyrocketed.

Azul had you waiting tables, and people loved it.

"Yes, it was. Aren't you glad you let us keep (Y/N) in the dorm, now?" Jade asked.

"...I suppose."

You've learned a lot during your time with Jade and Floyd. How to walk, how to speak properly, how to act like a human would, how to threaten people... though, apparently, you didn't look all that scary when threatening people.

"Oh dear, it seems trouble is brewing." Jade said. "(Y/N) just spilled a drink on a Savannaclaw student."

"Oh no." Azul said, keeping his composure, but freaking out on the inside. "I can only hope that he realizes they're literally a child and chooses to just forgive them..."

"Azul, I think we both know that isn't going to happen."

Nobody likes seeing a child crying on the floor. People like it even less when that child has annoyed them.

You're crying on the floor, just trying to apologize, and not being able to through your tears. Suddenly, somebody stood in front of you, separating you from the Savannaclaw student. It was Floyd.

"What's going on here?" He asked. "If they did something wrong, you can bring it up with me."

"Huh? W-well this brat... uh... spilled a drink on me."

"Oh, did they?" Floyd asked. "And you're planning on gettin' angry at this kid? You were gonna fight 'em like you do with the rest of our staff?" The Savannaclaw student looked nervous when he said that. "Yeah, I recognize you. Did you not hear when I told you to never come back here?"

"I-I mean I did hear you, I just thought it wasn't too serious, y'know? I mean really, what I did wasn't that bad."

"Yeah, but I still told you to never come back. You think that with those giant ears o' yours, you'd've understood what 'never show your stupid face here again or I'll slam it into a table like you did to that employee' meant." Floyd angrily told the person.

"But that guy was asking for it!"

"I'll give you three seconds to leave the Lounge, pond scum."

...

...

...

"Fine, then. Your own fault if you END UP IN THE HOSPITAL!"

You didn't get to see entirely what happened, Floyd's legs obscured your view, but you heard a glass plate shatter, and something hard hit the table over and over.

"Floyd, let him off easy." Jade picked you up off the ground, covering your eyes with his hand. "He didn't physically harm any of our dorm mates, or (Y/N) for that matter."

"...I guess you're right."

"However. You do need to leave. As Floyd said, you are not supposed to be here. You should leave, before our Housewarden tells us to... escort you out personally."

"Y-yeah! I'll leave! I'll never come back, I-I swear!!"

The twins were very protective over you. After all, you are a part of their family.

The two eventually revealed to you that they were mermen, like you! And not to mention, they were morays! Ribbon eels like you are a species of moray, how cool!

Though... you did miss your family. Your real family. They're probably wondering where you are, right? They probably miss you a lot, don't they...?

"Eh? What's with the tears, smallfry?" Floyd asked you one night as you cried on the couch of Octavinelle's lounge (not the one you work at) "Something bothering you?"

"I miss my family...!" You told him, crying.

"Huh? Whaddaya mean? Jade and I are your family, (Y/N)!"

"M-my parents... and s-siblings... they're a-all worried about me! T-they're w-wondering where I-I-I am...!" You cried.

"Oh, poor dear, are you homesick?" Jade asked, draping a blanket over you. "Home is where the heart is, as they say. So, you have no reason to be sad, so long as you're surrounded by family. And you are! Floyd and I are your big brothers now, aren't we?"

"N-no!!" You wailed. "I want to be in the water with my real family!!!"

"Aw... Jaaaaade, you made (Y/N) cry!" Floyd pointed accusingly at his brother.

"I did no such thing. They were crying before I began talking."

"Well, they're crying harder than they were before, so you did do such a thing."

"(Y/N), I apologize for what I am about to say. I didn't want to tell you, as you are a child, but it seems it is necessary for me to tell you." Jade said, crouching down and grabbing your face. "Your parents and siblings are most likely dead. Assuming they were captured along with you, and were kept in similar conditions to you, and how long you've stayed with us, it's most likely they're all dead by now! You're extremely lucky to have survived as long as you did on your own without food, I doubt the rest of your family would've survived as long. And even if they did, the only reason you did survive was because I found you in that abandoned cottage. I doubt the rest of your family was as lucky."

You couldn't even cry. All you could do was sit there in shock.

"Do you understand now, (Y/N)? Floyd and I are your only family."

Everything he had said hit you all at once.

He was probaby right.

You were starving when Jade found you. If not for him, you probably would've died.

Your family probably wasn't as lucky as you were.

You're alone.

You're alone.

Well, no... that isn't true.

You aren't alone.

You have your older brothers, Jade and Floyd.

Your wonderful family.

The only family you've ever known.

The only family you need.

[lemonykoo]

burnt out - tighnari

Pairing: Boyfriend!Tighnari x Student!Reader

Genre: Angst, I guess? Comfort later, though. Female reader.

Word Count: 2.5k

Notes: You’ve been working toward your degree at the Academiya for four years now, and as the days go on, Tighnari starts to notice that your diligence to your studies has gone by the wayside. Just when he thinks he has to have a talk with you, it’s brought to his attention that you aren’t just slacking off, but that there’s a bigger problem at hand. (Very self-indulgent lmao.)

Warnings: mentions of burnout and all the things that come of it! Tighnari is unaware of the situation so he’s a bit brash at first. (He also might be a little OOC im so sorry.) Vomiting is also mentioned – not graphically, just mentioned a few times. Also not entirely for sure how the Academiya runs in genshin but I structured it kind of like college to make it easier for me :)

“So, I got the exam, right? And I looked at the first page and was like, ‘Whoa, I know this stuff!’ And I just went through the whole test like that, so I think I did well! There were a couple I was confused about, but I think I got them, so I’m not too worried.” You stood from the crouched position you had been in and sighed, wiping the sweat from off your brow as you waited for an approving response from your boyfriend.

“You always study hard, so I would expect nothing less from you,” was the response Tighnari gave and oh, how damaging to you would it soon turn out to be.

It was a slow process, of course. It wasn’t like you just woke up one day and decided that you had no urge to even step foot on the premise of the Academiya, let alone even gaze in its direction. It was a gradual feeling that started to bubble within after four years of diligent studying and research to graduate and obtain a much sought-after degree in biology. This was a goal you had always been passionate about. Ever since you were young, you always wanted to learn more about the world around you, specifically nature’s role in it. You were still in the process of trying to write your thesis, with the help of your just as diligent boyfriend, Tighnari. Of course, the thesis work was all you – he was just there for support and to help out when needed. A lot of your time together was spent outside in the rainforest, collecting data and observing nature do it’s thing.

You spend a lot of time at Pardis Dhyai, since a lot of your research revolves around botany, but you also travel to Gandharva Ville not only to see your lover but also for research purposes. Your time spent in the rainforest with the forest watchers was always brief and you’d return back to Pardis Dhyai almost as soon as you left, but your stays have gotten longer. At first, you said it was because your work that needed to be done back at “home base” as you referred to it as didn’t have to start as soon as you woke up in the morning but then you changed your story to “Gandharva ville has more materials I need for my research.” Either one was acceptable; after all, students do tend to travel all over the place to gather material and data for their research topics. It wasn’t uncommon for you to even go someplace else in Sumeru for a couple days. The only problem with your second excuse was that you spent more time in Tighnari’s abode rather than outside inspecting plants and their habitats.

“You’re still here? I thought you said you were going to go out in the field today,” Tighnari said, seeing that you sitting at his desk, a notebook opened in front of you. The pages were blank except for a few scribbles and doodles. When he had left earlier, you had told him you needed to go into the field and see how the plants you were observing were doing since you hadn’t since last week. But it appeared that you hadn’t even attempted to leave.

“Oh, yeah, I had a lot to do this week so I thought I’d take it easy today, actually,” you answered.

“Understandable,” was all he replied with, a feeling of doubt surfacing that was quickly shaken away.

This theme of your “I need to blah blah blah” statements and then never actually doing what “needed” to be done became a very frequent occurrence. “Didn’t you say the test this week was super hard? I haven’t seen you touch your notes once in the past two days,” Tighnari noted as you ate lunch one day by a stream.

“It’s not until later in the week so I have time,” you said, shrugging. He decided not to press the issue further, putting his trust in the fact that you’d most likely just study when it came closer to time. Though, he’d really suggest starting now, but oh well.

And it continued like this, but you’d come back and explain that you didn’t do as well on that test as you thought you would followed by, “I should’ve studied more, but I just felt like I couldn’t.” Tighnari asked why you would return so late to Pardis Dhyai when you had work to do there, but you’d just brush it off and say that you could take care of it, you just might have to work longer one day. He’d stand at the entrance of your little “home base” and wave at you, telling you to have a nice rest of the week with a voice in his head saying that something was up with you but he just couldn’t put his finger on it.

You were always so diligent with your schoolwork. So focused and never missing a due date. You were always in the field, ready to learn and make observations. You’d go through notebook after notebook, filling the pages with endless pieces of knowledge and experiences you had come across, completely immersing yourself in your work and loving every minute of it. But now, you were different. Things had changed over these past four years. You weren’t as eager to go out in the field with him and when you were, the enjoyment didn’t last long and you’d get restless and distracted from the tasks at hand. Your stays at his place consisted of basically just you sleeping over until you stated you were ready for him to walk you back to Pardis Dhyai. You didn’t have your nose in books or notes anymore or ask him to quiz you for your next test. It was almost as if you weren’t even a student anymore. Were you just… becoming lazy? Surely not, as that was so unlike you. Perhaps… you had grown to dislike your degree choice, or realized that you just didn’t like it as much as you thought.

Tighnari decided he needed to address this concern of his to you and figure out what was going on. Maybe you just needed a little push to get going again! If that was the case, he was always there to encourage you. Hopefully you hadn’t forgotten all the times he’s helped you with your research, because if you were stuck and didn’t know how to continue with it, he’d totally help you out just as he had before.

When Tighnari entered Gandharva Ville, he was approached by Collei before he could reach his home. “Master Tighnari!” the young girl greeted. “I was waiting for you to return. I was wanting to ask you if there’s anything I could do to help (Y/N)? I didn’t know she was sick and I feel bad for not keeping her company while you were gone.”

“Sick?” Tighnari echoed. “I didn’t know she was sick, either.” His brows furrowed and gazed off into the distance, looking at his home and wondering what he had missed while he was out.

“Oh?” Collei bit at the inside of her cheek as she followed the male’s gaze. “I figured (Y/N) hadn’t ate yet, so I made her a couple pita pockets so she could take a break from her studies. When I walked in, though, she was sitting on the ground with her head in her hands. She said she had just thrown up.”

A lot of thoughts were running through the forest ranger’s mind. At first, he had wanted to retort and say that you probably weren’t studying earlier, but rather drawing meaningless doodles in the pages of your notebook that should have your work written on them instead. But you had thrown up? Tighnari didn’t even waste another second, but instead headed straight to his home.

Upon entering, you were seated on the bed, braiding a series of small flowers together into bracelets, something you’d always do when you were little and out playing in the forest with your friends. You had made several of these for Tighnari in the past, all of which were dried and turning to dust somewhere in a vase in his house. You looked up before going back to your braiding. “I know, I know. I’m not studying. You don’t have to say anything this time,” you said softly, a bit of strain in your voice.

Ouch. “That’s not-“ he sighed, “Collei said you were sick?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I just threw up a little. My throat still hurts a bit, but I’m fine,” you responded, a bit of what he assumed was embarrassment written on your face.

Your boyfriend observed the space around you. A half-eaten pita pocket lay on a plate, discarded on his desk, cold and stale. Next to it, your books were open and your notebook was out and he was surprised to see that you had actually been studying. “Why did you throw up? Had you eaten something previously that upset you?”

“No,” you replied. “I hadn’t eaten anything all day until Collei made lunch. I had been doing work all morning since you left.” As Tighnari observed you, he made note of the redness of your eyes. He remembered when he left this morning on his forest ranger duties, giving a hasty kiss on your cheek before he departed, hoping not to wake you up since you were still asleep. That was another thing – you’ve spent a lot of your time taking naps or just laying in bed until it was time to eat, but sometimes, you’d even skip that. More pieces started to fit together in his mind.

Before he could hit you with another round of questions to try to deduce why you had gotten sick earlier, you said something that tied it all together for him.

“I was just doing some of my work and I got overwhelmed. Before I knew it, I felt the need to vomit and thankfully-”

The rest of your statement about how you got out and away from Tighnari’s things just before you vomited didn’t matter because it suddenly made sense now. He just… he just didn’t know how to tell you because it was obvious you weren’t aware of the situation.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” he said, coming to sit next to you on the bed. He picked up one of the carefully made bracelets and ran his hand through it before taking it off and laying it back down. The silence was unbearable to him. “About what you said earlier, though, I’m sorry for always getting onto you for not studying. It’s really none of my business. I just know how much you want this degree and I don’t want to see you give up on it.” Maybe he could ease you into this conversation to make things easier.

You exhaled a tired sigh. “It’s okay. I know I should study more. I just… don’t always feel like it and when I do go to study, like today, I just get so… sick. I threw up last week, too, in Pardis Dhyai. I don’t know what’s going on, to be honest.”

“Do you think that maybe you’re just burnt out?”

Your eyes widened a bit, and you peered up at him as he looked at you, his eyes full of concern and worry. You quickly looked away, your fingers fumbling with the flower bracelet in your hand. “No. How could I be burnt out when I love what I do?”

“I understand thinking that, but (Y/N), it’s more common than you’d think.” He shifted his position to be a bit closer and he gently grabbed one your hands to still your fidgeting. “You’ve worked so hard for so long, it’s normal for this to happen.”

“Yeah, but I always take breaks,” you retorted. “I shouldn’t be burnt out already. Not like this.”

His thumb rubbed gentle, loving circles into the back of your palm. “Even before you joined the Academiya, you were working on what your thesis would be and what research you would do. You’ve put in so much time for so long.” He paused, watching a tear drop from the corner of your eye. “You haven’t mentioned your thesis in a while, either.”

“They keep getting rejected,” you hiccupped, pulling your hand away from his. You turned away, feeling a sense of shame because of the position you were in. You pulled your knees up to your chest and let out a shaky breath, feeling the sick, overwhelmed feeling from earlier settle into your stomach again. “I keep trying to come up with something new and interesting, but it’s never enough. I want to keep trying because I love this – I love the research, the new things I discover, the people and places. But ever since my third thesis was rejected, I just felt… I just felt sick every time I think of doing field work.”

Tighnari didn’t know how best to comfort you in this situation. If it was him, he would just want to be left alone to regain his composure, but he knew you didn’t function like that. He moved his position to sit beside you once again and he placed an arm around your waist to pull you toward him. “It’s not uncommon to get your thesis rejected, y/n, so don’t let that discourage you-”

“But it keeps happening,” you cried, your tears dropping onto his clothes. “I don’t feel like this dream of mine is even meant for me anymore. Maybe I’m not cut out-”

“Hey, hey,” Tighnari interrupted you, his voice firm. “Don’t even begin to think like that, because it’s not true. Some of the smartest people out there have gotten multiple theses rejected. That doesn’t mean they weren’t capable of achieving what they wanted. It just means it took a little extra time. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But there is something wrong with you discrediting yourself and your abilities, because you are more than capable of reaching your goals and everyone around you can see that.”

“I’m just worried that if I don’t achieve this, I’ll let you and everyone else down,” you murmured.

“You could never let me down,” he said, sincerity clear in his words. Your lips quivered and you felt more tears surface as you turned to hug your boyfriend. Those were some of the exact words you needed to hear at the moment, and you would most likely need to him say them again at a later time, but right now was all you needed to feel a spot of hope begin to grow inside you. Once he was sure your cries had calmed down enough for you to listen to him again, Tighnari planted a kiss on the top of your head before he pulled back to give you another on your nose. “And you know I’m always here to help you, no matter what it is. I’m rooting for you, Collei is rooting for you, and I’m sure the other forest watchers are, too. We all know that you’re capable of accomplishing this, now you just have to believe in yourself.”

[writemekpop]

Love Sick | Jung Jaehyun

Pairing: Jung Jaehyun x Reader

Summary: As 'the nerd girl', you can't believe your luck when you hook up with the hottest guy on campus... until he gives you chlamydia. Get ready for the freakiest love story of your life. 

Genre: Fuckboy!Jaehyun, enemies to lovers, NCIT universe 

Word count: 1.9K

Warnings: Frat boys, sex in weird places, STDs, Jaehyun’s frat friends are bitchy, bad physics puns 

You should never have slept with Jung Jaehyun. 

That was truer than the fact that the Andromeda galaxy will collide with the milky way in 50 billion years. To be honest, you wished that would happen right now. You wanted to disappear. 

Jaehyun was the classic stuck up college boy, who thought that, just because he ruled his frat house, he ruled the world.  

Jaehyun could not be more different to you. Jaehyun was only here because his parents donated a whole lab to the university. You were here on a full academic scholarship, on track to become the first female astrophysics professor in NCIT. 

To cut a long story short, it was a late night at the lab, you were both alone, you were missing your ex… and maybe you’d had one too many contraband beers. As much as you hated Jaehyun, you couldn’t deny that he was smoking hot. So when he offered to fuck you right there on the lab bench, you swept away your textbooks and said hell yes. 

Three weeks later, it had all gone to shit. Because you just found out that you had chlamydia. And as he was your only hook-up this year… it didn’t take a genius to work out who gave it to you. And now, you had a duty to tell him. 

“Oh Jaehyun, you feel so good,” you moaned, throwing your head back in delight. You were sitting on the lab bench, stark naked, legs spread with Jaehyun between them. Your pulse was skyrocketing. 

Jaehyun removed his glistening fingers from your core and unbuckled his jeans. 

“Condom?” you asked, placing one hand on his hip. 

Jaehyun sighed. “I don’t have one, but don’t worry baby, I’ll pull out in time.” 

What a jerk. Sure, you weren’t pregnant. But you had an STD, and to you, that was worse. 

---

Next Monday, after your quantum computing class, you decided to confront Jaehyun. 

You stormed down the hallway towards where Jaehyun was standing. He was with Taeyong and Yuta, two of the guys in his frat. Both useless jocks who could barely count to ten. 

“Hey! You!” you cried. Jaehyun glanced in your direction, cold eyes raking over your figure. Then he shrugged and went back to talking to your friends.

You slammed your fist on the locker doors. “I’m talking to you!” 

Yuta nudged Jaehyun. “Hey, look! It’s little miss teacher’s pet. Sucked off any professors today?”. 

Jaehyun turned towards you, crossing his arms over his large frame. “What do you want?” 

You glowered back. “You gave me chlamydia… you, you dickwad!”

Jaehyun’s eyes went wide. You watched as his neck turned the faintest red. For the first time, you saw his cool demeanour falter, just a little. 

Mark, Jaehyun’s stoner friend, piped up. “Woahhh, Jae banged the nerd chick? That’s… messed up, bro.”

Jaehyun’s expression hardened. “You need to get your facts straight. I never fucked you. You must have got your… disease from someone else.”

Your jaw dropped open. “Stop lying! It had to be you! I haven’t slept with anyone else!”

A small crowd of students had collected around you. Some were snickering, others were simply shocked just to see the most popular guy in the year was talking to you.  

Jaehyun shrugged, plastering on a smirk. “Maybe you fantasised having sex with me or something, but it never happened. Go back to… humping robots or whatever.”

All of Jaehyun’s friends erupted into laughter. Murmurs of attention-seeking slut, dork, bitch, leapt from the crowd. Normally you didn’t care what anyone thought of you, but now, you felt your eyes welling with tears. 

Before Jaehyun could say anything else, you ran off. 

You spent the rest of the day hiding in the old Chemistry lab at the back of the campus. It had been empty for so long that leafy vines had burst through a broken window, letting in a breath of rain-moistened air. It was your secret hide out place. 

You were flicking through the latest issue of Nature, trying not to think about Jaehyun, when you heard the door rattle. 

“I thought I’d find you here,” Jaehyun said, striding in, brushing raindrops off his dark blue hoodie. 

You looked up at him in shock. “H-how did you know I was here?” 

Jaehyun smiled, one dimple appearing on his smooth cheek. “You walk here straight after class. You’re not that mysterious you know.”

You scoffed. “What do you want?”

The smile dropped off Jaehyun’s face. He sat on the bench next to you, so close you could smell his minty aftershave. “I’m sorry about earlier… My friends… they- they see basic human decency as a sign of weakness.” His eyes dropped. “I just wanted to check that you’re okay.”

You frowned.. “Why do you even care?” 

“Look,” Jaehyun said. “You’re good in bed, for a nerd. Like really good. If you got chlamydia from me, that sucks. Do you need me to help pay for your meds?”

Your jaw fell open. “I’m not your little charity case! I only told you because you need to get checked up yourself!”

Before Jaehyun could say anything else, you ran off. Leaving him alone. Again.  

---

Over the next week, Jaehyun kept invading your personal space, trying to talk to you. He somehow got hold of your number, and then your phone was pinging like a broken Geiger counter. 

You had to admit, he was starting to wear you down. You still thought he was a good for nothing jerk, but you couldn’t deny how your body reacted when he was around. 

Late one night, you were struggling with your assignment in the physics faculty library, when you felt a finger tap your shoulder. You looked up to see Jaehyun. He was holding a textbook, smiling. 

He was wearing a tight grey sports tee and his hair was dripping wet. He looked… delicious. But then you remembered the horrible meds you had to take for your STD. 

And that was all Jaehyun’s fault. Him and his stupid dick. 

“What are you doing here?” you spat. 

Jaehyun sat down on the seat next to you and thumped the textbook onto the desk. “I want to study with you. We’re both in the same advanced calculus class, it’s… time efficient.” 

You scoffed and opened his textbook, marvelling at the crack of the spine. “This has never been opened. Come on, Jaehyun. What do you want from me?”

Jaehyun shifted awkwardly in his seat. The tips of his ears went red. “Maybe I… like you, okay? You’re… not like anyone I’ve ever slept with.” 

You snorted. “Did you really just say I’m not like other girls? Get over yourself!” 

You stood up, the chair screaming against the wooden floor. 

“Wait Don’t go!” Jaehyun grabbed your arm. “I really do want to study with you. I-I can help you with your problem!” He stared intently at your notebook for a few seconds.

Then, he picked up your pen and started filling in the blanks in your equation. You watched in awe as he worked, pink tongue sticking out. 

After five minutes, he looked up, beaming. “Done.” He held out the notepad for you. You scanned it over, and then sat back down, eyes wide in shock.

“i-I’ve been working on this equation for two weeks!” 

Jaehyun nudged your shoulder, smiling. “I’m not just a pretty face, you know.” 

“Woah.” You said, staring into his hazel eyes. Suddenly, Jaehyun was looking handsomer than ever. You didn’t care he was a jerk. You didn’t care that he gave you chlamydia. You didn’t care that he bullied you. All you wanted was him. 

You grabbed him by his hoodie and pulled him towards you. You kissed him, hard. Jaehyun curled his fingers into your hair, kissing you back just as deeply. The wetness of his tongue sent your head spinning, hurtling, out of orbit. 

Overwhelmed with the feeling of him, you climbed onto his lap. Your thighs brushed his soft sweatpants, but the warmth from underneath drove your skin crazy. If someone asked you to list the planets in the solar system right now, you wouldn’t be able to name one. Not when Jaehyun’s lips were brushing the base of your neck, right above your pulse.

One of his hands slid down your waist and cupped your ass. You pushed his hand further down, inviting him to slip his hands underneath your skirt. Which he did. You gasped when you felt his cool fingers graze the cotton of your underwear. 

You felt the bulge in his pants begin to grow too. 

And that was when it happened. 

Sudden, unwanted, like someone dumped an ice-cold bucket of water over your head. 

Your mind flashed back to the last time you did this with Jaehyun. And that’s when you remembered everything that happened between you. All you could hear was Jaehyun’s friends laughing at you, all you could feel was shame. 

You shoved Jaehyun off you, tears pricking your eyes.

“What’s the matter?” Jaehyun muttered, completely oblivious to your pain, eyes still hooded in pleasure. 

“We shouldn’t be doing this!” you said, re-doing the buckle of your bra strap that Jaehyun had manage to unhook whilst you were kissing. 

“What is it?” 

You huffed. “You’re still the jerk who denied sleeping with me then humiliated me in public! And then, and then, you come up and tell me you like me when no one’s looking, like I give a shit about your feelings. You- you suck!”

Jaehyun rolled his dark eyes. He hadn’t fluttered so much as an eyelash at your outburst. “That’s rich, coming from you.” 

You frowned. “Meaning?”

His voice was quiet, but it pulsed with pain. “Don’t you get it? You told everyone I have an STD. Do you not realise how embarrassing that was? My friends haven’t talked to me since! I… have feelings too, you know. And you hurt them.”  

Your mouth dropped open. You looked at Jaehyun, at the way he twisted the Armani ring on his finger, the way his cheeks were dusted with blush.

Your voice was quiet. “I guess I didn’t consider that I could have hurt you. That… was wrong.” 

Jaehyun touched your cheek. He slid his fingers down your face, resting on your bottom lip. “Can we start again?” 

You nodded. 

Jaehyun smiled. He thrust out his hand for you to shake. “Hi. I’m Jaehyun. I have an STD. But I’m working on that. I’m also a jerk. But I’m working on that too.”

You couldn’t help but laugh as you shook his hand. “I’m Y/n,” you said. “A girl who’s working on her anger management and also seeing the cutest guy in her physics class.” You could feel your cheeks going warm.

Jaehyun waggled his brows. “The cutest, huh? You gotta tell me more about this hunk.”

You laughed and slapped his arm. “How about I tell you on the way to the clinic? I think we could both do with a check-up.” 

Jaehyun held his arm, and you linked your arm through his. 

He smiled. “Who knew that chlamydia would bring us together? Does that mean when I propose I have to give you syphilis?” 

“Jaehyun!”

—

MASTERLIST

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