#devi vishwakumar fluff

[gredandforgeweatherby]

Stay With Me (I Don't Want You to Leave)

Ben Gross x reader

WC: 2k

Warnings: None

A/N: Idk why but I just wrote the reader Hispanic though it is only clear in the beginning and is not mentioned elsewhere in the story.

You and your mother had been trying to get you into boarding school for months. But not just any boarding school–Phillips Academy. Phillips Academy was only the most prestigious boarding school in the U.S. It is the oldest incorporated academy in the United States, and only has an average acceptance rate of 13%. Your mother thought that was a good selling point, though you would disagree and say it was discouraging.

Your mother was more excited than you were about the possibility of you going. She thought it would help you get into any college you wanted, and told you you needed to apply at least. While she was super excited, you were more on the fence. Yes, the opportunity to go there would be great, but you weren’t quite sure if you wanted to spend the last two years of high school away from everything you knew. Luckily it was highly improbable you would get in.

Well, as your luck would have it, you were one of the 13% that was accepted. Needless to say, your mother was ecstatic when she found out.

“Oh! Mija this is fantastic!” She practically squealed, capturing you in a tight hug in the process. “This is cause for a celebration, I’ll need to call your tías y tíos and–OH! Do you remember when Abuela will be back from vacation? I have to look at my calendar because Abuela has to be there. She would kill me if she missed it.” She paused her rambling for a second to look at you, putting her hands on your elbows affectionately. “Mija I’m so proud of you. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that you would get in. I can’t wait for you to go and experience this.”

“Thank you, mama.” The two of you smiled at each other and hugged once more before she went back downstairs.

While your mom was over the moon with your acceptance to Phillips Academy you were not. Yes, you were very proud of yourself for getting accepted, but you weren’t quite sure if you wanted to go. Did you really want to spend the last two years of high school in Massachusetts away from everyone and everything you know? 

You were hoping that telling them friends would cause them to encourage you to stay, but it seemed they were on your mom with this one.

“Are you kidding?” Fabiola asked, “Phillips Academy is the best boarding school in the U.S. You have to go! This could work wonders for you for college.”

“What Fabiola said. I mean, can you imagine being able to tell people you went to the most prestigious boarding school the U.S. has to offer? That would be like, the sexiest thing a college could hear.” Devi added on.

You still weren’t sold on the idea.

“But, I’d be spending my last two years of high school on the opposite side of the country. Won’t you guys miss me?”

“Of course we’ll miss you,” Eleanor said, “But this could be a really great thing for you. And we all want great things for you.” Fabiola and Devi nodded.

“But,” you started, “My whole life is here. You guys, my family. I mean, what am I gonna do without you guys for junior and senior year? That’s when we were supposed to savor the time we have left together. I don’t know if I can handle only having the rest of sophomore year and the summer with you guys.

“We would have breaks to visit each other. And we could Facetime every day. Plus, we have a snap streak, and you aren’t allowed to break that or I will fly up to Massachusetts myself to smack you.” Devi put out, pointing at you.

You knew your friends were right. This was a great thing for you and not going would be stupid. But you were still on the fence. How could you just up and leave to go across the country at the end of the summer? What would you do without your family and friends?

*.·:·.☽✧    ✦    ✧☾.·:·.*

The school day had finally ended and you were at your locker gathering what you needed before you left. Just as you were closing your locker Ben came up to you.

“So, I heard that you’re going to boarding school,” he said, “Did your mother finally get tired of you?” You rolled your eyes at his poor excuse of a joke.

“No, she has not gotten tired of me. She just thinks it would look really good for me on college applications.”

“Oh, well, you’re going right?”

“I’m not sure. What are you trying to get rid of me?” You asked, mostly as a joke though there was a bit of you that was seriously asking him.

He was the one to roll his eyes this time. “I was just wondering. What school even is it anyway?”

“It’s called Phillips Academy. It's like the best boarding school the country has to offer. It educates its students for Yale.” You said.

Ben’s eyes widened slightly at what you were telling him. He couldn’t believe you weren’t sure if you were going to go.

“Are you kidding me?” he asked, “That’s amazing, you have to go.”

You sighed. It seemed like at this point everyone you asked about it was saying the exact opposite of what you wanted to hear.

“Yeah it’s great and all but I don’t know if I can go.”

“What? Why?” He questioned. 

Your shoulders slumped as you heaved another sigh. “Because I don’t know if I want to–or even can–spend my last two years of high school away from everyone and everything I know. I’m not ready to leave yet. And not only will I not be with my friends or family but I will be on the literal other side of the country. It’s not like I can take a weekend trip to visit.” You paused, slightly embarrassed that you would allow something like that to be the reason you miss out on the amazing opportunity. “I know this would be great for me but I’m not sure if I could do it.”

“Look,” Ben began, “I get it. It's scary to think about, but this would be so great for you. Not many people get this opportunity. So yeah, it’s hard at first, and maybe, in the beginning, it’s gonna suck, but I think you’ll regret it if you don’t go. You obviously worked really hard for this. You should go. You deserve it.” He was right, just like your other friends, and you knew it. This was something you worked really hard for, and to not at the very least give it a try made it feel like you wasted all that hard work on nothing. But why did Ben telling you to go crush your spirits even more than your friends?

“I guess you’re right.” You nodded.

“Yeah, I always am.” He cockily replied. You pursed your lips at his response.

*.·:·.☽✧    ✦    ✧☾.·:·.*

Summer was in full swing. You spent much of it so far spending lots of time with Devi, Fabiola, and Eleanor. Your summer ended two weeks earlier than theirs, so you would be shipping off to Massachusetts soon. 

The girls had just left a few minutes before when someone knocked on the door. You quickly got up from the couch, assuming it was one of them back because they forgot something. When you opened the door, you were met by someone you didn’t expect.

“Ben?” You questioned.

He sent you a nervous smile. “Hi, uh, sorry I know it’s kinda late, but…” he trailed off, losing his confidence more every second he stood there.

You raised your brows, “You wanna come in?” You moved out of the way and opened the door further for him to enter. He entered quietly, standing with his back to you.

“Is everything okay? You’re being kinda weird.”

He turned to you. You could see him clench his jaw and swallow before he finally spoke. “Don’t go.” You blinked in confusion, not quite sure what he was talking about right now.

Don’t go?”

“To Phillips. Don’t go.”

“Ben, you were one of the many people who told you to go.”

He quickly nodded his head. “I know, but I don’t want you to leave. You don’t need to go to a prestigious boarding school across the country to get into Yale. You don’t need them to go anywhere. You could get into whatever college you want without them. I know I told you to go but that was just so I didn’t seem selfish.” His voice quieted when he spoke next. “I would miss you too much if you went.”

You stood there surprised. Surprised that Ben came to your house just to tell you to stay. You had to admit, it was nice to have someone tell you they wanted you to stay. And it was Ben. How could you say no to him? It was heartwarming to know that he couldn’t let this go.

While you had been standing there thinking about the situation, Ben thought he had made a complete and utter ass of himself by coming there. He took your shock and silence as a bad sign.

“Y-You’re not saying anything.” He stuttered.

This caused you to come out of your shocked stupor, opening and closing your mouth trying to think of what to say.

“You don’t want me to go.” You stated. Ben shook his head. 

“I don’t want me to go either.” You revealed. “This whole summer I’ve been kinda bummed because I don’t want to go.” Ben looked at you confused. “So why were you going to?”

You shrugged, “Because everyone told me to. Everyone I asked about it told me I should go because it was such a great opportunity. My mom was so proud of me, she really wanted me to get in. I just felt like if I didn’t go I would disappoint her; I’d be throwing away this opportunity.” 

Ben stared at you with a look in his eyes you couldn’t decipher. “I don’t know how she could be disappointed,” the shake of his head was almost unnoticeable, “You were accepted into a school whose acceptance rate was 9% last year. That’s more than most can say. You work harder than even Devi sometimes, and her whole personality is crushing me academically, which she is failing at by the way.” He added, overconfidence oozing through his words. “But I meant what I said; you’re smart enough and impressive enough to get into any college on your own. You don’t need some expensive boarding school.”

The genuineness in those words made you tear up. You had never heard anyone talk about you in that way, and hearing it from Ben made it feel even better. You realized that you didn’t want to go at all. You didn’t want to leave your family, you didn’t want to leave your friends, and you especially didn’t want to leave Ben.

“I’m not going.” You quietly announced. Ben looked at you, a small smile tugging at his lips when he asked, “What?”

“I'm not going.” You announced louder, shaking your head. “I don’t want to leave and you’re right, again. I don’t need Phillips. I don’t even want to go to Yale, so why go somewhere that prepares their students for it? I wanna stay at Sherman Oaks with you and all my friends and stay here with my family.” 

Ben smiled, a laugh falling from his lips as he shook his head. “So, it was a good thing that I came here then? Because there were a few points where I thought this was an awful decision.”

You cocked your head to the side. “Oh, when was that?”

“Basically up until you said you didn’t want to go.”

“Ah.” You nodded. You and Ben stood in silence for a second before he spoke up again.

“So, I am the reason you’re staying right? I convinced you.”

Even though it was he who convinced you to stay, you were too afraid of the boost it would give his ego if you just outright confirmed it. After all, you had told him he was right two times this year. 

“Well not just you, but you were a big part of it.”

The thought of that made Ben smile. He’d take it. He knew you just didn’t want to boost his ego anyway.

[tesstuffsblog]

Flirty drunk

L» Pairing: Ben Gross x female reader

Rating: Fluff / flirty drunk/ enemies to lovers

Summary: Lorelai Colombo, 17 years old. She returns to L.A. for her junior year of high school after spending a frivolous summer that everyone knows about. One night she goes to Trent’s party with her friend Devi, she gets drunk…

Taylor Swift is her narrator<3

(this is a chapter form my wattpad fanfic "The story of us", here if you want to read it)

English is not my first language!

Lorelai changed her clothes in hurry before going out

Taylor: "'Escape' come on she literally got out from the window"

She wore a mini white skirt, a simple tank top and some boots. A simple outfit but she felt like herself in it and her makeup is basically the same she was going to wear that night she just added glitter on the eyeshadow.

"Oh, hey what are you doing here?" Trent says opening the door "Did you forget your calculator or something?" he adds

"Did you forget your calculator to something?" he adds, almost as shocked by her presence

"Hi!" Lorelai gives him a little smile waving her hand

"Ohi, you're here too! Lorelai came!" Trent literally yells to someone inside

Funny how three months ago they didn't even consider her.

"Whoa! You came" Paxton peeks out "And you brought California Brittle. This slaps, come in" he adds taking the chocolates. In fact, her mom would never let her show up in someone else's house without something to offer.

Trent's house is a simple American house, but there was an industrial amount of bottles of alcohol everywhere. Lorelai can swear to have seen in that house people never met at school, someone is drinking, others are smoking, others just dance or chat.

Not even the time to get in, that everyone is staring to the girl walking through the front door, certainly Trent didn't help with that.

But who can blame them, Lorelai is beautiful. The clothes are perfectly wrapped around her body and her wavy hair left loose sways around her shoulders as she moves around the room.

"Do you want a drink?" Paxton asks them leading the way

"Oh i need it" Lorelai replies

"Oh yeah beer me. Love that bread soda" Devi says taking a glass in her hands

"Are you already drunk?" Rory the shocked question Rory swallowing the first shot

"No, but that's my purpose for the end of the night"

"I definitely agree with you."

"You're not having one?" Devi asks Paxton that, as a good boy he is, takes a bottle of water

"No. I can't during swim season. You gotta keep the body right, you know."

"Yeah, totally. If i had your body i'd treat it right too."

"Oh my god" Lorelai takes her friend by the arm and drags her away from that awkward situation "We have to perfection your flirting skills, Devi."

"What did i say wrong?"

˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ⁀➷

Taylor: "Well it didn't take long, apparently Lorelai achieved her goal before Devi because I don't think it's normal to dance like that... no definitely drunk."

"'Sup people! Who wants some 'za?" Ben starts by suddenly entering with a stupid smile on his lips

"Ugh i wish he brought tacos..." Lorelai hears someone saying

"Oh my god, Ben! You brought pizza, i'm so hungry i love you" Rory drags herself towards him slurring her words

"What had gotten into her?"

"Oh well i'll leave her to you. Apparently she tolerates you when she's drunk. Oh wait should i get you a getorade? You seem real thirsty"

Ben scoffs "What are you too doing here?"

"Getting drunk." Rory says not even bothering to consider lying while sitting next to someone on the couch.

That day had been long and your mom never seemed to make it easier, so she wanted a few drinks to feel better.

"Yeah i see that" the boy replies checking her out "Shouldn't you be counting your friends on three fingers?"

"Uh you're the one to talk. How you're even here? These people don't like you." Devi says like it was obvious.

Taylor: "Because it's actually true"

"Yeah, they do. Hey what's up, Trent?" Ben tries to hive five gets brutally ignored "Whatever."

"Devi! Zoe is talking to Paxton" Lorelai points out and Devi immediately swallows half a beer

"Well..." Ben trails off taking one for him and sitting next to Rory "So..." he clears his voice "thank you for helping with that history project by the way"

The girl next to him gives him a little smile and and she is about to drink another shot

"Ehy easy there" Ben takes her glass away "take this" instead offers her a bottle of water but she doesn't bother to drink it

Suddenly she feels a liquid falling on her shirt.

"Ah i'm soo sorry!" it's Zoe who just spilled her drink on Lorelai "Was that marked Chanel?" she asks grinning into her face

Rory stands up and almost slips "Cazzo! That fucking bitch!" but Zoe was already gone

"Hey." Ben stops her "Forget it, it's not worth it." but her face still angered "Come here let's vet you cleaned up" Rory's face softens, it's Zoe what else could she expect...

˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ⁀➷

"How could she do that! Like...what have i done to her? Ben...are you listening?"

The music makes the floor vibrate as they meander around the hose.

"If you don't shut up right now i'll...i'll call your mother" Ben points her finger at her annoyed after finally finding the bathroom.

"God not her. Oh my..." she trails off watching him casually taking off his sweatshirt. Fortunately he had a t-shirt under it.

"Yeah you wish. Here take this" he offers Rory his sweatshirt

"Thank you" Lorelai thanks him offering him a warm smile "umh can you?"

"Oh-oh yeah sure. I mean obviously" Ben immediately turns around so Lorelai can get changed freely

"I'll give it back to you at school" she turns around, the sweatshirt a bit big for her

"No problem, you can take it"

"Why are you suddenly so..." Rory turns her whole body so now she can face Ben

"So- what?"

"so pretty! you've got such a good 'nd nice smile." she smiles at him widely, studying carefully the boy's face as if it was the first time she saw him

Taylor: "Yeah still drunk"

"Umh..." Ben couldn't help it and Rory is too drunk to notice the blush creeping on the boy's cheeks and ears "Have your eyes always been so...blue?"

"Yeah? I- i think so" Lorelai was flushed from the alcohol and her big brown eyes were the only two things Ben could focus on at the moment

Taylor: "Soo Rory is actually flirty drunk! This is getting interesting"

"Holy shit! There's a coyote on the lawn!" some weird guy yells

Taylor: "Oh come on!"

[harmonizingsunsets]

“I love you too.” Ben kisses her again. “Much more.”

She lays a hand flat on his chest. “Don’t enter a fight you can’t win.”

“Why not? You do it all the time.”

or

Devi and Ben during the fall of their freshman year.

[toongrrl-blog]

[edwinspaynes]

Most-Used Ao3 Tags

Top 5 most tagged characters:

Alastair Carstairs (43)

Thomas Lightwood (40)

Matthew Fairchild (28)

Ben Gross (25)

Devi Vishwakumar (22)

Top 5 most tagged ships:

Alastair Carstairs/Thomas Lightwood (41)

Tessa Gray/Will Herondale (13)

Ben Gross/Devi Vishwakumar (12)

Alastair Carstairs & Matthew Fairchild (12)

TIE. Cordelia Carstairs/James Herondale (10) AND Matthew Fairchild & Thomas Lightwood (10)

Top 5 additional tags:

Canon Compliant (62)

Post-Canon (49)

Fluff (35)

Established Relationship (26)

Domestic Fluff (14)

TAGGING @themimsyborogove @thevagabondexpress @vwritesaus and @luciehercndale

[shitideas]

🪼 info

my name is celeste, i’m 18 and i’m just starting this blog! i’m planning on writing short stories or one shots on characters that i currently like, or by requests.

i won’t be writing smut, mostly because i feel weird writing it… 🌚 but maybe i’ll change my mind in the future..

i’ll mostly be writing fluff and angst, or just what i’m feeling in the moment.

i might also post some of my art here since i do draw!

♡ - fluff

☆ - angst

characters i’m writing for:

SCREAM

stu macher : melting ♡, the end ☆ the beggining ☆

billy loomis : polaroids ♡

mickey altieri

roman bridger

charlie walker

ethan landry

sidney prescott

tatum riley

gale weathers

jill roberts

kirby reed

amber freeman

TV SHOWS

never have i ever

devi vishwakumar

paxton hall-yoshida

ethan morales

stranger things

eddie munson

billy hargrove

max mayfield

ginny & georgia

marcus baker

abby littman

the umbrella academy

five hargreeves

diego hargreeves

klaus hargreeves

lila pitts

outer banks

jj maybank

pope heyward

rafe cameron

sarah cameron

cleo

shameless

carl gallagher

lip gallagher

ian gallagher

fiona gallagher

veronica fisher

you can send in requests for some other characters if you’d like, i can’t really remember all of the shows i’ve watched lol. thank you for coming onto my page! i’ll see you soon with some stories 🫶🏻

🪼

[ssaturnssstuff]

firstly, my genres:

smut = ♡

fluff = ☆

angst = ■

characters I write for:

games:

Jonas💕 (oxenfree)

Alex (oxenfree)

Nona (oxenfree)

Ren (oxenfree)

shows/movies:

Zuko (atla)

Suna Rintaro (Haikyuu)

Kageyama Tobio (Haikyuu)

Kuroo Tetsuro (haikyuu)

Daichi Sawamura (haikyuu)

Ushijima Wakatoshi (haikyuu)

Howl (Howls Moving Castle)

Eddie Munson (stranger things)

Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Nhie)

Trent (idk his last name, from nhie tho)

Devi Vishwakumar (nhie)

Eleanor Wong (nhie)

Fabiola Torres (nhie)

Ben Gross (nhie)

(List will grow over time!!)

[catty-words]

1,2, and 5 for the fic writer ask game

what fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work?

you know what, i'm gonna go with easy to resemble, hard to learn the workings of. get on my pro-masturbation agenda or bust, love devi vishwakumar or else. etc. etc.

go to your ao3 works page and check your 3-5 most used additional tags. do you think they accurately represent your writing habits?

ooh, without even looking, i know "one-shot" is going to make the list

yeah, that pretty well sums it up. i like a self-contained fic adventure, especially one that changes one small detail from canon to see how actions might have spiraled differently.

i suppose i'm surprised 'fluff' shows up so often (relatively speaking, 13/124 isn't exactly a staggering majority). i tend not to think about my fic occupying any space on the fluff-angst continuum. then again, maybe i'm pretentious!

what do you wish someone would ask you about [insert fic]? answer it now!

did you have a fic in mind for this one? i tried to pick one myself, but i forgot every fun fact i'd ever want to share about my fics when i was scrolling through the list so. my brain needs some guidance.

[a-lockman5]

Lucky Love {Devi x Paxton}

A/N: Another request! More Devi and Paxton being adorable! I made a lot of jumps in this one and changed POV, so hopefully it is not too confusing. There was a lot of time together, and I really liked the pieces so I didn’t want to let them go, but also I would have written an entire novel of filler if I didn’t make time jumps. So  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Hope you enjoy!

Summary: Paxton doesn’t know what it is, but the more present Devi was in his life, the better things seem to be for him. 

Warnings: Fluff.. that’s about it 

Requests are closed at this time as I’m already like 4 behind (you guys are awesome!), but ask is open.

MASTERLIST

“Oh, hey, umm, I’m in your neighborhood. Thought maybe we could hang out, but uh, it seems like you’re busy, so… Uh… Anyway, you can give me a call or text. Whatever… Okay.”

The first time Devi listened to Paxton’s voicemail, she saved it, but told herself she wouldn’t listen to it again. She was with her mom and Kamala on their way home from Malibu. She’d just kissed Ben Gross, and Kamala, thankfully, distracted her mom long enough that Nalini was none the wiser. Devi’s mother wasn’t the reason she wouldn’t listen to the voicemail again though, Ben was. She just had the most amazing moment topped by the most amazing kiss with Ben freaking Gross. She could hardly believe it herself, but she wasn’t going to taint that by listening to a voicemail from another guy.

“Oh, hey, umm, I’m in your neighborhood…”

The second time she listened to Paxton’s voice crackle across the line, was when she was lying in bed trying to fall asleep. It was the same day that she promised herself she wouldn’t listen to it ever again. She lasted six hours, and honestly, she was proud of that. It was five and a half hours longer than she thought she would last. He sounded vague and detached, and she knew that. Ben was expressive and he wore all his emotions on his face. Why would she throw away such a great moment with Ben to listen Paxton ask her to hangout or whatever? Logically, it didn’t make any sense. She just needed to think about Ben and fall asleep.

“…Thought maybe we could hang out, but…”

The third time Paxton’s voicemail reached her ears was after she’d sat bolt right up in bed from a weird (not entirely bad) dream. Paxton and Ben were fighting over her. Not like fighting in the cafeteria though, no. Instead, it was a medieval joust, with horses and swords and giant sticks, and an amazingly detailed crown for her to wear. In the dream, she thought she gave Ben her favor, but after Paxton knocked him off his horse, he magically had her favor instead. She was so thrilled for his victory mid-dream that she didn’t question it. Then to top it all off, they kissed… again! Except, it was a dream this time, but it reminded her of the real time, and… well shit.

*Can we talk?* she sent the text without another thought.

*Yeah. On the phone?*

*In person. I’ll meet you at school?*

*Sounds good.*

“… uh, seems like you’re busy, so… Uh…”

The fourth time she listened to the voicemail Paxton left nine hours earlier, she hung up before it finished as the very person she dragged out of bed was getting out of a town car. He walked over with a bag full of Devi’s things, smiling sheepishly. When he reached her, she graciously took the bag from him and met his eye for the first time since they’d kissed. Almost instantly, she saw his face fall.

“You didn’t mean it, did you?”

“What? No, it’s not like that. I” –

“It’s okay, I get it. It was a big moment, you were emotional. It’s no big deal,” Ben told her.

“It was a big deal… and I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me the last couple weeks. I think I was just swept up in the moment or some other Hollywood cliché… I should have found a better way to say thank you.”

“I’m glad you told me. I care about you, I think you know that,” he nodded. “Nothin’ hurt.”

“You’re not mad?”

He sighed. “Can’t be mad at you for being honest. Now, if you make it weird and blow me off at school when we just started becoming friendly rivals, I’ll be mad. Friends?” he asked sticking his hand out.

“Friends,” she met him for a handshake. “Thanks, Gross.”

“Anyway, you can give me a call or text. Whatever… Okay.”

The fifth time she listened to Paxton’s voicemail, she recognized every nuance in his voice that slipped past her the previous listens. He was vulnerable. He came to her house to ask her to hangout even though the last time he came to her house, her mom called him an idiot. He was trying to sound aloof, but she could tell he was scared. Scared of what? Her mom? Or was he scared of her?

She didn’t want to waste another second waiting to find out so, at 9:30AM she found herself riding a scooter to the Hall-Yoshida residence. When she got there, she was about to knock at the door when Rebecca and her parents opened it, fully dressed. It looked like they were leaving.

“Devi?” Rebecca greeted quizzically. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey, Becca, Mr. and Mrs. Hall-Yoshida. Is Paxton here?”

Rebecca’s expression changed into a wide grin before she answered. “No, he has a swim meet this morning and is already at the pool. That’s where we’re going. Want to come?”

“Uh…” Devi hesitated, taking that moment to realize she didn’t even change out of her pajama pants which were adorned with several pink frosted donuts. “You know what, Becca? I will see you there. I’m going change into something a little…”

“Less pathetic?” she finished, as her parents stepped by them. Devi was sure she heard Mr. Hall-Yoshida snort in laughter at his daughter’s sass.

“Assessment noted. See you in a bit!” Devi called over her shoulder as she retreated to her scooter.

As soon as she got home again, she ran up to her room. Hair curly and half up? Done. Makeup? Applied. Red glitter on cheeks? Lightly brushed. Cricket stickers in place of eye black? Nailed it. Red knee-high socks? Donned. And the final touch – a white Sherman Oaks High School Crickets t-shirt cut into a cut-off and worn over her red tank top with denim shorts. She looked like a real-life superfan. Unfortunately, after perfecting her appearance, Devi realized she was late for the meet.

The next thing Devi realized was, while you always see people dressing up for football games, no one does that for swim meets. At least, not at Sherman Oaks High. Sure, there was plenty of red and white spirit wear, but nothing quite like what Devi had done. As she stood at the entrance to the aquatic center, Devi thought to run straight back home before anyone realized she was there. Besides, was a grand romantic gesture really what Paxton’s voicemail called for? It’s not like he poured his soul out to her. One could argue, he didn’t put himself out there at all. At most, he extended an olive branch after blowing her off before. Yep, sending him a text later today was a much better alternative to the embarrassment she was inevitably racing toward the longer she stood there. Devi turned on her heel, and immediately found herself face to face with Rebecca who held a mountain dew and an orange Gatorade.

“Devi!” she brightened up immediately, before taking in her outfit. “You look great!”

“Really?” If Rebecca was complimenting her outfit, then maybe she was wrong. Maybe she was just a trendsetter.

“I mean, it’s a little cringey for a swim meet, but it’s a look for sure,” she elaborated. After her shrewd assessment of Devi’s clothing choices for the second time that day, Rebecca’s eyes lit up. “Oh, will you take this to Paxton?”

“Me? I don’t know. I don’t think I” –

“Yes, you have to! He sucked in his first event, and he needs a boost,” she told her, thrusting the sports drink into Devi’s hands. “Look he’s right over there with Eddie waiting for their next race.”

Okay, Devi, deep breath. Own it. She told herself. With her thoughts racing, Devi attempted to strut toward the side opposite end of the pool where Paxton sat talking with Eddie Tan. As she got closer, she worried about stumbling in her steps, or tripping over a swim block. That fear was, of course, ridiculous because all the blocks were at the end of the pool, and she was walking down the side. No, this time she was not going to be clumsy. She was a different woman now. She’d kissed two boys in the last two weeks – she was a GD siren.

“Devi?”

“Paxton, hey,” his voice broke her from her internal monologue. She advanced the last few paces, as he stood to meet her.  “Becca asked me to bring you this.”

“Thanks,” he breathed in a smile.

“Hey, are we finally getting cheerleaders?” Eddie asked, coming up beside Paxton. “You look fire.”

Devi’s smile grew tenfold. “Thanks, Eddie, but no, not a cheerleader. Just trying to be supportive,” she grinned looking at Paxton.

“Dope,” Eddie nodded, before being called away by their coach.

“Thanks for this,” Paxton told her as he uncapped the Gatorade and took a sip. “Hey, you know I came by your place yesterday?”

“Yeah, I know. I came by yours this morning. You were already gone.”

He nodded with a small smile. “Cool. Well, I better get back. My next event should be up soon.”

“Cool.”

***

Paxton took another gulp of the Gatorade as he watched Devi’s retreating form. She heard his voicemail, and now she was at his swim meet looking like she wanted him to give her his jersey. If he had one to give her, she’d be wearing it. He was nervous when he never heard from her yesterday, and if he was honest, he slept poorly because of it. He felt tired when he got to the pool this morning, and it showed during his backstroke race. Eddie was trying to get him out of his own head when Devi showed up.

“Yoshida!” Coach Bryant called down to him. “You’re up next for breaststroke. You good?”

“Yeah, coach,” he replied, capping his drink. “Good to go.”

After putting his earplugs in, pulling his goggles on, and securing his swim cap. Paxton was waiting behind his block for the previous heat to end. Five deep breaths, and he would be ready to go. 5…..4….3…2.. –

“Woo! Paxton!” he heard a cheer from the stands. When he looked up, he saw his favorite nerd in the bleachers, standing with his mom and sister. They started in on a rehearsed chant, each one yelling a different letter of his initials. “P! H! Y! – P! H! Y!”

He couldn’t fight the smile from his face as he stepped up to his block. Devi came to his house this morning. She dressed up for his swim meet today. She was sitting with his family, and they were enjoying her.

When the starting gun sounded, Paxton dove into the water. It was effortless – such a stark contrast from his previous race. He couldn’t even describe how he was gliding through the water. If he didn’t know any better, he would think Rebecca spiked his Gatorade. Before he knew it, he was finished.

Coach Bryant hoisted him out of the pool by one arm as people cheered all around him. “That’s a PR, kid! 58.8!”

Paxton pulled his cap and goggles off just before his coach wrapped him in a bruising hug. A moment later, he was thrust back, and Bryant landed a sound clap on his back. “I don’t know what changed between your first race and now, but don’t change a thing. Got me?”

Paxton’s eyes flickered over to Devi in the stands, she was beaming right back at him. “Got it, Coach.”

***

“Paxton, you were amazing!” Rebecca told him when he came out of the locker room.

“That breaststroke was Olympic qualifying time, kiddo,” his dad wrapped him in a one-arm hug, “at nearly 17! You keep that up, we’re going to be watching you win gold medals.”

His mom put an arm around Devi’s shoulders with a sly smile. “Well, if you ask me, I think Paxton had a good luck charm.”

“Oh, no,” Devi shook her head with a smile as her cheeks reddened. “I didn’t do anything.”

“I know one thing,” Mrs. Hall-Yoshida continued, “we would be happy for you to ride with us to Paxton’s meet on Tuesday.”

“Mom’s right, we can’t take any chances. As long as you’re free, Devi, we’d love to have you,” his dad nodded.

Paxton gave Devi a lopsided grin. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride home.”

“You were amazing. I mean, I’ve seen you swim before, but you were just so fast today. Becca said you struggled in your first race, but you looked fine to me,” Devi rambled as they climbed into the jeep, “better than fine. And what your dad said about the Olympics! Do you think you’ll try to qualify for 2024?”

He huffed out a smile. Her mind moved so quickly her mouth could barely keep up, and it always left him speechless. It embarrassed her, but it just reminded him of how smart she really was. “I don’t know.”

“Aren’t you excited? How are you so chill about this?”

He shrugged. “I just swam. I didn’t even try; I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Wow, you should not try more often,” she smiled.

Actually, he was planning to try a lot harder than he ever had before. “You want to get some food?”

Her smiled widened. “Sure.”

“Cool.”

They drove on for few minutes in silence, and he noticed Devi tapping furiously on her phone screen. For a moment, he wondered who she might be texting, but then he remembered.

“I’m guessing your mom doesn’t know where you are?”

“Yeah, she’s freaking out,” she scoffed before her eyes widened in alarm. “No, not because I’m with you! Just – I left this morning before she woke up. I’m just letting her know I went to the swim meet and that I’m going to Fabiola’s to study for history at 4:00.”

“Conveniently leaving out what you’re doing right now,” he pointed out.

He glanced over, and she drew her bottom lip between her teeth while she stared out at the road. Paxton could almost hear her thoughts pinballing in her head as she figured out what to say to him. Should he tell her how much her mother’s disapproval – no, that’s not quite right – her disdain for him, hurt his feelings? Well, not in those words certainly. Hurt his feelings? Yeah, right.

“I should tell you, I’m sorry,” she finally said, as they swung into the parking lot of a local burger joint. “I should have stuck up for you when you came to my house after Ben’s party.”

“You did,” he shrugged. “We’re cool.”

She shook her head. “I stuck up for me. I should have warned you about how she is with boys. To be fair, I don’t have a lot of experience yet myself, but I did know that she reminds me constantly, I can’t have a boyfriend until I’m old enough to rent a car. I knew that she would freak out if she knew I kissed you, but you didn’t.”

“It’s really okay. Not the first girl’s mom to not like me,” he grinned. It wasn’t true. He’d won over the mother of every other girl he’d gone out with. Some of them made him uncomfortable like Mrs. Harrison, but others just found him charming. Devi didn’t need to feel bad about it though. It’s not like she said those things, and like she said, it didn’t even have to do with him really. “Can we go in?”

She supplied a weak grin in return but nodded. Just as they were going to get out, it started raining. He watched his companion deflate as she watched the big raindrops plop on the windshield. Paxton grabbed around the backseat for his extra jacket, handing it to her once he had it. “Here, it’ll keep you dry.”

She nodded with a suppressed smile, pulling it on and putting the hood up. Without another word, they slid out of the vehicle and jogged into the restaurant. While they waited to be seated, Paxton turned to Devi. He noticed her shiver and clutch his jacket tighter around her. Between the downpour outside and the cranked AC inside, she was probably freezing. Without thinking, he placed a hand on each of her shoulders, rubbing them furiously in attempt to help warm her up.

“Thanks, but aren’t you cold?” she asked, subconsciously leaning into his touch. “You didn’t even put your hood up.”

“Me?” he replied with a devilish smirk. “Nah, I spent the whole morning in a pool. Besides, my hair was already wet,” he told her, shaking his head so drops of water showered her lightly. When a delighted laugh was her response, he smiled victoriously. He didn’t have to be smooth or suave with Devi. She liked him when he was raw, genuine, and dorky. If he was honest, it was a relief – no stress of trying to impress her because she already liked the real him.

He needed to tell her how he felt. Wasn’t that the whole point of going to her house yesterday? He wanted her to know that he liked her, that he was glad they kissed, that he didn’t care if her mom thought he was stupid. He liked her. They sat opposite each other in a booth after ordering their food. She hadn’t said a word since they sat down, but neither had he. The tension between them was running high as Paxton realized this was the first time things really felt like a date. In hopes of making their first date official, he reached across the table and covered her hand with his. Her eyes zeroed in on the action and grew wide. If she thought she was surprised now, just wait until she heard what Paxton was about to say.

“I kissed Ben!” Devi blurted.

Paxton’s head drooped as his brow furrowed in disbelief. “What? When?”

“Yesterday.”

He looked away from her as his hand dropped to his side. His face screwed up as he tried to process the information she gave him – mouth opening and closing as he fought to think of something to say. After a deep sigh, he hung his head until rubbing his face briskly with one hand. Finally, he made eye contact with her again. “So what? You guys together now or something?”

“No, it didn’t mean anything. I just – okay so yesterday, I almost missed spreading my dad’s ashes because I’ve been in a huge fight with my mom and ran away from home since the day after Ben’s party. My mom and cousin were in Malibu, and I wasn’t going to make it in time. Ben drove me all the way there, and I made it. And I made up with my mom. And we spread Dad’s ashes together, and I just got to really remember him. I got to remember him without it coming up at an inconvenient moment, without trying to push the memories away,” her eyes filled with tears. “I got to remember him with my mom, and I’ve been so unfair to her because she lost him too, and… and Ben was still there after we left the beach. He was still there waiting for me. And things have just been so hard, I’ve felt so abandoned and alone, and I probably would have kissed that little weasel Russia from model UN if he’d been there – I know you don’t know who that is, but the point is, the kiss wasn’t about Ben. I would have kissed anyone if they were there for me in that moment. I…” she trailed off, tears escaping and sweeping down her face. “I’m sorry.”

Paxton’s chest felt tight as he watched cry silently. His body moved of its own accord, carrying him over to her side of the booth and wrapping her in his arms. He pressed her head against his chest, before hushing her gently. “It’s okay… shh… I got you… you’re okay.” Tucking her head under his chin, he rested against her until he felt her body start to relax too. He scooted away when she started to pull her head up.

“Aren’t you mad at me?” she sniffled before chewing on her bottom lip.

“For what? Devi, if I hadn’t blown you off at school, I would have been the one in Malibu with you,” he told her. “You’ve been through a lot, and I’m done dumping on you. It’s not fair.”

She nodded with a weak smile. “Thank you,” she whispered.

He smiled back and slid back out to take his seat across from her again. “Can I tell you what I think?” he asked, waiting for her nod to continue. “If you really would have kissed anyone in that moment, and I believe you when you say you would have, then it doesn’t sound like you’re ready to have a boyfriend right now,” he watched her hang her head at his words. “Hey, this isn’t me telling you that I don’t like you. It’s the opposite of that. I like you. I like you a lot actually.”

“You do?” she asked perplexed, brow furrowing in a way that made him want to kiss her.

“Yeah, I do. That’s why I went to your house yesterday, but, Devi, I don’t want to date you if you’re not ready for that…”

Her voice was barely above a whisper as their food was placed on the table. “Yeah, that’s fair.”

Paxton thanked their server before turning his attention back to the girl across from him. She looked broken again. The only other time he’d ever seen her look that way was after Gross’s party. After her friends walked out on her. “Devi, I’m not going anywhere. I just want to be your friend while you figure stuff out. If we end up dating, I want you to be sure it’s what you want – not something to distract you from your problems.”

Things were silent between them for a few moments as they started in on their meals. Paxton glanced at her, and she was eating – he was glad of that – but she was still kind of sulking. An idea sparked in him as he tapped her foot under the table. “Hey,” he smiled. “You know what I could really use?”

“What?”

“Some help studying for the history test.”

“Well, I’m supposed to at Fabiola’s in forty-five minutes,” she reminded him.

“Right… do you think your friends would mind if I came along?”

For the first time since they sat down, Devi smiled.

***

“I got a B?” Paxton gaped at his own history test.

“A job well done, Mr. H – Y,” Mr. Shapiro nodded as he continued passing tests back.

“Dude!” Trent exclaimed, fist bumping Paxton. “You get a tutor?”

“I got three,” Paxton smiled, turning around to look at Devi. She was already smiling at him. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“I know,” she teased. “Seriously though, you did the work. I’m happy for you.”

“My mom was on to something, you know?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re my good luck charm. I stick with you, you’re gonna get me on the Stanford swim team.”

And she did. After that history test, Devi started unofficially tutoring him in all his classes. She was officially tutoring him as far as her mom was concerned, and therefore, it was a job, not her hanging out with a boy. They studied at the library, at either family’s dining tables or at Eleanor or Fabiola’s. The last time they had studied at Devi’s, her mom invited him to stay for dinner. If that wasn’t enough, she actually conversed with him about how much she had heard about his swimming career. Apparently, Coach Bryant’s wife worked at her Dr. Vishwakumar’s dermatology practice. It felt like a big victory to Paxton. A comparable victory was Devi’s help in preparing him for the SATs and a resulting 1300 score. He couldn’t believe how much things had turned around for him academically, but with Devi’s help and support, he felt unstoppable.

He ended up with a scholarship that covered 75% of his school fees to join the swim team, and his parents could not have been prouder. He wasn’t crazy about being five and a half hours from home, but he was thrilled, shocked even, to have gained admission to such a prestigious school. He knew that things were going to be challenging but was grateful when his new coach told him they had a team tutor. Devi suggested making sure he had a strong relationship with the tutor. As a collegiate athlete, he’d have a lot of pressure on him both in the pool and in the classroom.

“You’re smart though,” she told him as she helped him pack before move-in day. “Your SAT score shows that. Don’t second guess yourself, and don’t let people think you’re just a pretty face.”

Paxton smirked. Even after everything they’d been through, she wasn’t afraid to admit physical attraction. They never started dating after that conversation about making sure she was ready, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to. All he’d learned in the last two years was, Devi was far more special than he’d realized when their friendship began. Watching her heal after her father’s death and blossom into the woman he saw now was beautiful, and Paxton was just thankful to have a front row seat. Hearing her stories about Mohan and seeing how much she shared with her father made his heart swell, and he never missed an opportunity to tell her, her dad sounded a lot like her. He loved the smile she’d give him when he did too.

“I’m gonna miss you, Vishwakumar,” he murmured, pulling her close.

“Stop acting like you’re going off to war; it’s 2021. You can facetime me whenever you want,” she replied into his shoulder. She tried to pull away but stopped when his hold tightened.

“I’m going to hold you to that.”

“I’m counting on it.”

***

“Mom, come on, this is the only school I’m going to see without you.”

“Yes, khanna, I know this. That is why you must be prepared,” Devi’s mother responded, pages of her questions pouring out of the printer.

“I’ve gone on three other visits with you, mom, I know what to ask. And you’re going to ask the admissions office again if I decide this is what I want.”

“I do not know why you are even visiting this school. You are to go to an ivy league school.”

Devi groaned. “Mom, they have the number two law program in the country. They are every bit as prestigious as any of the ivy leagues and you know it.”

“Yes… and you are certain you want to be a lawyer?”

“I’m certain I have plenty of experience with fact-based arguments,” Devi smirked.

Her mom glared playfully at her. “They are usually riddled with emotion in my memory.”

“Part of the charm,” she smiled back. “It would be nice to be closer to you too, Mom.”

Her gaze softened before pulling Devi tight to her chest. “Just be safe, sweetie. I love you. I will see you on Monday.”

Sherman Oaks had two weekends per school year for upperclassmen where they were invited to take a long weekend for a college visit. Devi, Eleanor, and Fabiola decided to take this opportunity to visit the one school all three of them planned to apply to. Devi’s mom had taken a great deal of convincing, but in the last two years the relationship between Devi and Nalini had remarkably improved. They’d gone to therapy sessions together to process Mohan’s death – they learned how to be more open and sympathetic to each other along the way. They still argued. Nalini still had high expectations for Devi, but they never doubted that they loved each other. And Nalini’s trust in Devi had flourished as a result. Thank goodness, otherwise she never would have gotten the opportunity for an unsupervised college visit with her best friends.

Did they listen to way too many showtunes on the drive up for Devi’s taste? Yes. Yes, they did. Had Fabiola developed a weird taste for country music? Yes, she had. Thankfully, when a road trip is five and a half hours long, everyone gets a shot at picking the music. With plenty of snacks to go around, they were set for a great weekend.

Once arriving on campus, they congregated with other prospective students at the student union for the beginning of their visit. After a quick tour of the union, their next stop was housing and where they would be staying for the weekend. After housing, they toured the Cantor Arts Center, SLAC, Bing Concert Hall, and so many other destinations that it made Devi’s head spin. When they broke for the day, all three girls were happy to go rest in their room.

“Wow, this campus is like its own city,” Devi collapsed on a bed.

“You’re telling me! They have five different venues for their performing arts,” Eleanor gushed.

“And the number one engineering school in the state,” Fabiola agreed, “in one the most progressive areas in the country.”

After a few minutes of tired but enthralled conversation about the different things they liked about campus, the girls fell silent, all lying perpendicularly across the same twin bed. Devi was close to dozing off when Eleanor shifted beside her.

“So… have you told you know who that we’re here?”

Devi tried to suppress her smile. “No, I figured I would surprise him tomorrow after his meet.”

“Has he called yet?” Fabiola smiled.

Paxton and Devi had maintained a strong friendship through the recent months of his first semester and swim season at Stanford University. He facetimed her the night before every meet because “it’s the closest he could get to having his good luck charm with him.” She often told him, he was silly, but man, if she didn’t love every second of it.

“Nope, but he better hurry, otherwise I’ll be asleep,” she joked.

“Do you think he’ll recognize the dorms?” Fabiola asked.

“Good point…”

***

“What’s up, Pax? You seem tense,” Michael asked, tugging one of Paxton’s earbuds out.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “It’s stupid, just some superstition.”

“Didn’t talk to your girlfriend last night?” his friend smirked, tossing an arm over his shoulder to stretch.

Paxton smiled despite himself. “Shut up, man. She’s not my girlfriend.”

“You made her your woman-crush-Wednesday last week, and I didn’t even think people did that anymore.”

“Dude, whatever. She’s my best friend, and she’s the reason I’m here,” he shook his head as they both continued to stretch through their conversation.

It was true after all, at least in his opinion. If Devi had never approached him at the beginning of his junior year, his future may never have looked like this. She had mentioned before he moved up here, he could facetime her whenever he wanted. He systematically took advantage of that. Rationally, he knew that Devi could not affect how he swam. However, the more present Devi was in his life – the better things seem to be for Paxton, so he talked to her the night before every swim meet.  Did it have to be deeper than that?

Of course, it did. Paxton had never let go of his feelings for Devi. In fact, they only grew. She’d changed him into a completely different person with her friendship. Or did she just let him be himself? Yeah, that’s what she did. Devi saw him more acutely than anyone else he’d ever met… and she liked him. He wanted to be better, smarter, more motivated because she believed he could be. It made him believe it too. Did her not picking up his call last night change any of that? Absolutely not, he knew that. Did it make him feel like something was missing, just like if he didn’t get to listen to his music during warmups? Yes. Yes, it did.

“Huh… maybe you’re the reason she’s here.”

Paxton’s brow furrowed at Michael, before the latter nodded over Paxton’s shoulder. Paxton turned, and there she was, just like that first meet when everything changed. She had her red knee-high socks, her Stanford t-shirt and her denim shorts. Eye black under her eyes, and he couldn’t tell for sure, but he suspected the vertical lines would prove to be redwood trees. He wasn’t sure when the smile spread across his face, but his cheeks were already hurting from how happy he was to see her there.

Fabiola and Eleanor were with her, dressed similarly, and it was Eleanor that saw him first. She waved happily with one hand while nudging Devi and pointing toward him with the other. Devi beamed at him with the biggest smile he’d ever seen her wear. He wanted to wave. Hell, he wanted to run over to them, and wrap Devi in his arms. He wanted her to know how much having her there meant to him. He didn’t do any of those things though. He was stuck in his own shock and his body felt warm everywhere, so he just smiled at her and didn’t stop until Michael finally nudged him again.

“Get movin man, you gotta be in the pool soon,” he said with a laugh. “Don’t want to tear a muscle in front of your girl.”

Paxton rolled his eyes, shoving Michael’s shoulder good-naturedly before returning to his stretches.

When it was time for him to assume his starting position in the pool for the backstroke, Paxton followed his same routine – five deep breaths. 5…..4….3…2.. –

“P! H! Y!”

Just like almost every meet for the last two years of high school, he could hear his initials being chanted. And just like all those other meets, he knew Devi was the one that started it. It tapered off quickly while the starter waited to give his command, but it took effect.

When the starting gun sounded, Paxton had an out of body experience. It was like magic how easily he glided through the water. Somehow the race felt faster than the few seconds it took for them to start. When he brought his head fully out of the water, he could hear the raucous, thunderous cheering. He saw his time flash across the board: 51.8. A world record. A world record.

The rest of the meet was a daze. His other events were good, but not world record good. His teammates were congratulating him and talking about the parties they would be throwing for him – away from the coaching staff, of course. That all was great, but Paxton only had one thing on his mind, one person really. As soon as coach had dismissed him and he had his sweats donned, he was out the door.

People were shaking his hand. Smiling at him. Pulling him into hugs. Some were friends, classmates, teachers. Some were strangers. Paxton offered polite smiles and thanks as he continued to push past them. She was lingering toward the back, leaning against a wall with her friends talking about something on Instagram. When he finally made it to where no one stood between them, she was still probably eight feet away, and he froze. In that moment, he took all the little things he loved about her all at once. Her beauty, her intelligence, her faith in him, the way she reached inside him and pulled his walls down, the way she laughed at his jokes, and even then how she pretended to bored and look casual, but was chewing her bottom lip, his favorite sign that she was excited and nervous to see him again.

“My girl,” he breathed out, just loud enough to catch her attention.

Her eyes lit up when she saw him, and they both closed the distance between them. He wrapped her in a soul-crushing hug. Anyone around them might think it had been years since they’d seen each other instead of the few short months. He pulled away just enough to lean in for the one thing that had been on his mind all day – but then he stopped short.

“You didn’t kiss anybody yesterday, did you?” he asked.

She shook her head ‘no,’ as her cheeks took on a pink hue.

“Good. You think you’re ready for a boyfriend?”

She grinned with a small nod.

He matched her grin with a toothy smile. “Cool,” and he dove in. Finally, after two long years of not feeling Devi Vishwakumar’s lips against his, there he was kissing her, and boy, was it worth the wait. One hand cradled her jaw, the other clutching her back, holding her close as though if he let go, she’d disappear. He couldn’t even begin to describe how the actual kiss felt. Instead, he was so caught up in the monumental fact that is was finally happening. There was no one else – no Ben Gross to get in their way. She’d grown so much over the last two years, and so had he. She was ready. They were ready.

“Wait,” he pulled away. “Just to be clear, you are ready for me to be your boyfriend, right?”

She smiled, rolling her eyes, and pushing him away playfully. “Yes, dork.”

It was then he heard the cheers coming from their friends. Behind Devi, Eleanor and Fabiola gave them a thumbs up. Over Paxton’s shoulder, Michael let out a low whistle. When Paxton caught his eye, he winked and said, “thought she was just your best friend.”

Paxton looked back at Devi, her eyes finding his again immediately. “She is so much more than that.”

***

“Paxton Hall-Yoshida has done it again! He’s broke his own record!”

Paxton overheard the highlights of his 100m backstroke earlier that day as he walked the tunnel to where they were waiting. It was better than he could have imagined. He told his parents that he really wanted to give Devi one of the tickets for his events today. When he told them why, they were happy to help fly her out to them. It was five years since he realized Devi Vishwakumar was his good luck charm. And sure enough, she came through for him again today – sealing a gold medal for the backstroke. He was going to come through for her too.

“Hey,” she said when she saw him before tilting her head to the side. “What are you wearing?”

He glanced down at the expensive suit he’d donned in the locker room – the best suit he owned. “This? It’s nothing,” he smiled as he reached her.

“Where’s your bag?”

“Don’t worry about it,” he told her as his left hand slipped into his pocket. “I have everything I need right here.”

“Paxton, you can’t leave your stuff – what are you doing?” she asked suddenly, as he knelt down in front of her. Her eyes grew wide when he popped open the ring box.

“I’m feeling lucky, Devi. What about you?”

[nnishinoyaa-04]

First kiss

characters: Ran, Rindou (sorry if it's kinda ooc)

teenage love!! fluff!! btw Ran's part reader has a strict asian parents

tmi how i got this idea (also spoiler): i just finished watching never have i ever s1 😩 Ran's story is when paxton kiss devi in his car while Rindou's is when devi kiss ben after finishing tossing his father's ashes

Haitani Ran

"Ughh fuck this- now i'm all wet" looking at your dress on the mirror infront of you "Mom's really gonna kill me"

Basically you decided to disobey your asian mom to sneaked out to go to your friend party and now you are all wet because there's a girl that thought pushing you into the pool is funny. What could be more worse than that.

You lay in the bath tub thinking for 10 reason to tell your mom why did you sneaked out and all wet "AHH I DON'T KNOW" you ruffled your hair. Suddenly the bathroom door opened "Hey.." you startled and realized that voice is Ran's, one of the most popular boys in your school also aka your crush, he sit next to you during history period "Geez you scared me- Ooh it's yyo you- ahahh hey"

'why are you stuttering' you thought to yourself "May i come in?" "Uhh yea yea sure-"

"So.. it's pretty rough just now" closing the door behind him, heading his way to you "Yea someone think it's funny to got me all wet" rolling your eyes "Why didn't you snap at them back?" he ask still standing infront of you "First of all pretty boy i'm not like you, if I push them back I might need to prepare for a funeral-"

He chuckle "but isn't it fun and amusing if you push them back" you glare at him "Didn't you listened to what I just said" "Yea I did, I'm just telling you it will be fun if yo-"

"Yeah yeah" you turn your head to the other side feeling upset that Ran is just trying to make fun of you "y/n? heyyy" "just leave me alone"

Ran just sigh, he take your hand and caress it. Luckily you're not looking at him because you are blushing right now. "Can I sit inside with you?" you just hummed as a respond

He didn't let go of your hand when he get inside into the bath tub "y/n you have a pretty hand" he complimented you "thanks" you softly smile at him "it will be more pretty with this-" he slide a ring to your finger

You are in shock right now "wha- why?" he just smile and show you his finger "now we're matching" you just look at him don't know what to say "hey? do you not like it?" he ask you still having the pretty smile on his face "no it just- you're not playing with me right?"

"what do you mean?" he tilt his head confused "I mean like you're not going to ask me to pay you right?" he laugh "f-for what? I bought this for you so we can be matching" he smirk

You sigh in relieft "Thank God" "so? do you like it?" you just nod your head "good then-"

You keep looking at the ring on your finger while talking with Ran "Me and Rindou live separately from our parents"

You just nod, still looking at your finger "hey y/n" "yea-" before you can finish your word you felt a soft dry lips on your lips a hand on your face

Ran let you go after a second "y- you just kissed me?!" Ran just smile at you more like a smirk "that was my first kiss! mom's gonna kill me she's really going to kill me" you whine

Ran just laugh "stop laughing" you hit his chest "okay okay- sorry"

----

bonus

you guys make out until you hear you phone ring, you answer it without looking at the caller id "hello" taking a breath from your make out session just now "WHERE ARE YOU? IT'S 11 PM ALREADY"

"M-mom yeah you know-" "Y/N YOU BETTER GET YOUR ASS HERE RIGHT NOW I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANY OF YOUR EXPLANATION" you hang up the call and look at Ran awkwardly "Your mom is scary" "Yeah she's really strict" Ran giggle "i can tell- come on i give you a ride"

"Really?"

"Yeah, you're my girlfriend right"

You kiss him on the mouth and whisper "yes, you're my boyfriend"

Haitani Rindou

You are in a car, sitting on the passenger seat. Beside you is Rindou, he's giving you a ride to your house. You guys just went out a date. You can say your first date went smoothly. Good for you.

"y/n you sure you don't want to eat anymore?" rindou ask, turning his head to you with a curiosity look "uhh yeah, why do you ask?" you innocently ask "nothing you didn't eat a lot when we're eating just now"

you just chuckle and scratch your nape "it just i'm too shy to eat- infront of you" you whispered the last word but Rindou heard it but he just decide to shrugg it off.

after 10 minutes driving Rindou suddenly stop his car. you startled and confused because Rindou didn't bring you to your house instead to the beach "why are we here?" your turn to Rindou side, asking "We still have time don't want to waste it" you just nod awkwardly

"but-" "hmm?" raising his eyebrows looking at you "why the beach?" you smile "the sunset of course" you put your mouth in a duck face and just nod and turning your head to the window beside you

you didn't realized Rindou take a picture of you doing that face, he just chuckle looking at the picture he took just now "what's funny?" you ask still having that face "nothing you're cute" he pinch your cheeks. you're face is now red "look who's blushing" rindou smirk "stop it" you glare at him, rindou just laugh at your face

Rindou have been laughing for 5 minutes, he keep teasing you. You're pouting and sulking and then you realized the sunset "heyy rindou the sunset" you pull his hand to grab his attention while pointing at the sun

"Let's go outside" Rindou said before opening his door and went outside. He's standing not far from the car "y/n come" "wait i'm trying to find my phone" you shouted loud enough for him to hear you "just use my phone" he shouted back, waving his phone at you

"fine" you went out the car and ran to Rindou. Standing next to him "the sunset is beautiful" you blurted out "Yea-" he turn his head to you quickly "are you letting me go?" "hah?"

(for people that don't know what it means 'the sunset is beautiful isn't it?' it's 'i love you but i'm letting you go' you can google it for more explaination)

Rindou just shook his head. "Can we take a picture?" you smile at him excitedly "sure" he take out his phone and click the camera button. you put on a peace sign for the picture, Rindou put his hand on your shoulder and pull your closer. you smile for the picture and then you realized rindou didn't look at the camera but he's looking at you.

"Rindou you didn't look at the camera" you whine at him "so what? i look in love with you in this picture"

After Rindou said that you didn't waste any time and just crash your lips on his. Rindou is a bit surprised by your action cause just now you're blushing because he complimented you and you saying that you're embarassed to eat in front of him now you are kissing him.

'this girl is different' (in a good way) he thought to himself. you still kissing him, your hands on his chest. Rindou smirk before kissing you back. He pull your face closer, hands on your neck and the other hand on your waist. You guys keep kissing, hungry for each other, Rindou slide his tounge into your mouth. You are startled but you just keep going, Rindou smirk between the kiss.

After about 5 minutes kissing, you pull out to catch your breath. who knows on your first date you will have so much confident to do the first move. "So bold" you look up to Rindou to see him smirking, you roll your eyes. you raised your hand to hit him but before you can do that he pull you, your face hit his rough chest.

He slide his hand on your waist to your hips "hug me y/n" you wrap you hand on Rindou's body. You guys stay like that for 10 minutes enjoying each other company.

"Rindou be my boyfriend" you shyly asked "I am your boyfriend" he kiss your temple. Rindou can feel your lips smiling on his chest he decide to tease you "smiling huh?" you bite his chest "Ouw- okay sorry"

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

I WAS GOING TO WRITE MITSUYA TOO 😭 BUT IM TOO LAZY AND MY MIND WENT BLANK also I hope you enjoy this and sorry for any spelling error

[furoruisa]

So I need more happy fanfics in the benvi tag, like I love some angts but I've been so ready to punch Howard Gross in the last 24h , it's not healthy anymore

[tesstuffsblog]

this is the italian version of my ben gross fanfic (cause yeah i’m italian) i hope you enjoy it :)

[cupcakesandtv]

Innate Talent

It's my birthday but YOU get the fic! <3333 I'll take comments in lieu of gifts thank you!!!!! read it here on ao3 Paxton put his notebook down on the table next to Devi with a pop sound from his mouth and sat down. She had her glasses on and they were perched at the edge of her nose, like a librarian but somehow Paxton found it incredibly endearing. She was cute. She bumped her knee into his and looked over at him. “How was the thing?” she asked, pulling the glasses off her face and shoving them in the pocket of her bookbag.

He was about to answer but he noticed the forgotten chili cheese fries next to her. “Are you okay? You didn’t eat.” Devi scrunched up her face and shrugged. “Dead dad moment. I’ll eat later.”

They’d come up with the shorthand of “dead dad moment” because sometimes that just happened to Devi. She got sad or nostalgic or upset and she either wanted to talk about it or she didn’t. If she wanted to talk, she’d say more. She wasn’t saying more so Paxton knew to leave it alone for now.

“I’ve got this list.” He handed it to Devi.

“What’s the context on the list?” Devi asked, tilting her head as she skimmed the paper.

“Coach and Ms. Warner put the list together of schools who were interested in me for swimming before I broke my arm.” “Before Devi broke your arm,” Trent said, sitting across from them. Eleanor followed him and smacked the back of his head. “She’s apologized like a thousand times, they were literally making out on your couch yesterday, I don’t think you have to remind them,” Eleanor explained while picking at Devi’s cold fries.

“We could make out on my couch, you know?” Trent waggled his eyebrows at Eleanor.

“Anyways, so the list,” Devi cut in. The Trent and Eleanor thing was an ever evolving kind of weird thing where Trent openly begged Eleanor to date him and Eleanor basked in the obsession, but didn’t really know how she felt about it.

“So it’s the schools that wanted me, but canceled visits to scout me because of my arm, but told Ms. Warner they wanted to hear if I got my grades up.” Paxton shimmied his shoulders in an awkward little dance.

“What does that mean?”

“It means, if I email them with my current GPA and my most current swim times, and I really kiss some ass, like just make the email full of how much I wanna go to their school, they might send someone out to see me swim when we do the swim team trials in May.” Paxton pointed at the top of the list and Devi looked. “Princeton? Is there another Princeton?” Devi asked, unsure. “You don’t think I can get into Princeton?” Paxton looked offended.

“I didn’t know my Princeton had sports.” “Every college has sports, Devi,” Aneesa replied, sitting down next to Trent.

“Are you sure?” Devi was very skeptical. “Yeah,” Paxton scoffed.

“There’s a lot of Ivies on this list,” Devi said, reading further down.

“It’s gonna start to hurt my feelings if you keep saying it like that, Vishwakumar.” Paxton was irritated.

“No, I think this is really cool, I just didn’t even know they had sports programs!” Eleanor nodded her head. “She’s not fucking with you, she didn’t know that. The most she’s ever been interested in sports is when the NBA went to Disney World.”

“What about the Olympics? Surely you get excited about the Olympics? Everybody does?” Trent asked, concerned and definitely thinking of his favorite gymnast, Simone Biles. “They flip in the air and shit. Like so many times! Plus they’re wearing leotards, it’s fucking awesome!”

“Nah, never seen ‘em,” Devi answered while Paxton put his forehead on her shoulder and laughed.

“I can’t believe you’re the girl I picked,” Paxton said, coming up and kissing the side of Devi’s head. “Absolutely shocked every day that this works for me.”

Devi frowned and elbowed Paxton’s chest. “Stop making fun of me.” “I’m not. Literally, I’m embarrassed by how into a girl who doesn’t even know sports exist I am.” Paxton shook his head. “It’s more like a self own but I don’t care. I love you.” Everyone at the table stopped and looked at Paxton, Devi parted her lips to say something but Paxton backtracked smoothly. “I love that you didn’t know Princeton had sports.”

The bell rang and saved Paxton anymore embarrassment. “Alright, so tonight we start drafting kick ass emails to all these schools, right?” Devi asked, standing up and slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

“Right.”

--

Devi’s head was hanging off the side of her bed, her hair touching the ground, and noticing that there was a grease spot on the wall in the shape of a Bagel Bite. “Wonder when that got there?”

“When what got there?” Paxton asked from his spot on the floor, leaned against her bed, so their heads would have been perfect for a Spiderman upside down kiss reenactment if they weren’t in constant danger of Nalini walking into the room.

“Nothing.” Devi glanced at the laptop screen but was unable to read it because she was upside down. “So Fab is going to Stanford because they have a good robotics program, so you can mention that in your letter to them.”

“Oh, that explains why she texted me a wall of text that looked like gibberish. I thought she was trying to get me to join the robot club or whatever,” he said, looking at the text on his phone. “I can see now it’s all about Stanford.” Devi put her hand in Paxton’s hair and shook loose some of the curls from the gel he used to tame them. “Stopppp,” he said, dragging it out.

“Hey, remember at lunch today when you told me about this project,” Devi asked, scratching at his scalp in what she hoped was a soothing way.

“Mmmmhmmm,” he said, absently tugging on her hair to try and get her to stop. If he was chill, he could ignore her question. He didn’t want to talk about how he accidentally blurted out that he loved her. She stopped messing with his hair and moved to pull all her own hair into a bun, still upside down off the bed. Devi finished and kissed his cheek before turning to sit up. “You said you-” Devi started but Paxton cut her off. “I was pretty excited about the list.” Paxton closed his laptop and stood up. Better to just exit the situation. “I gotta go, my mom is making fajitas tonight and if somebody isn’t home to hold the fire extinguisher, things can go south fast.”

He bolted out of the room so fast, Devi could hear her grandmother fretting about the floors being too slippery for him to run that fast in socks.

--

This was the worst day of Paxton’s life. He had to get to Devi immediately. She would have some kind of plan for this. Or she would remind him that he was more than a hot bod meant to swim. She liked him for lots of other reasons. He couldn’t think of any of those reasons at the moment but that’s why it was important to get to her. Thank god she was in Bio last period because he knew she could slip out easily.

Paxton leaned against the front door of the classroom, just out of view of Mrs. Paloma, but at the right angle that Devi could see him.

“I need to go to the bathroom!” Devi said, her arm in the air. “That time of the month so it’s gonna take a minute!”

“You can just say you need to use the restroom, Devi, I don’t need to be updated on your cycle,” the teacher said as Devi grabbed her bag and slipped out the front door. “What’s the matter?” she asked. He must have looked as shitty as he felt. “Is somebody dead?”

Paxton shook his head. It was important to always assure her that no one had died.

“I suck.”

“Ha, yeah you do, suck my-” Devi tried to joke but Paxton shook his head again stopping her.

“No, Devi, I got in the pool. Coach had his PE class in the pool today so he told me to come by and get in the pool and swim. You know. For the first time. Since my arm.”

Devi’s brows furrowed. “I don’t understand. You were hyped about that at lunch.”

“Yeah. I was. And then I got in the pool.”

“Are you allergic to chlorine now or what?”

“Devi, I suck. I couldn’t do 100 meters without stopping, I was slow as fuck. My legs felt like lead. I suck now! My flip turn was sloppy. I’m never gonna be good again because I suck now!” His outburst surprised her and he felt bad. He didn’t mean to take out his frustration on her like that. He grimaced and Devi took his hand and tugged him away from the classroom.

“This is the first time you’ve been in a pool since you broke your arm,” she said over her shoulder as she pulled him outside of the school building. “It’s gonna take a minute to get adjusted. To get back into it.”

“I don’t have time to get back into it! The time trials are 10 weeks from today!” She spun around and pushed him against the brick of the outside of the building. Devi put her hands on his face, her thumbs rubbing back and forth on his chin. Paxton forgot what was happening, he just looked at her and everything slowed down. She leaned in and kissed him, he put his hands on her hips and tugged her closer to him, relishing the way she felt against him. He slid his hand up her side, looking for the skin under her shirt. Devi sighed into his mouth and pulled away just a second to kiss the corner of his mouth.

“What was...what was I saying?” he asked, dazed.

“You were panicked about swimming but you’re gonna be fine.”

Paxton felt every muscle in his body tense again. Did his arm hurt? The one he’d broken? His legs felt like jelly but not in the fun way. “Hey,” Devi said, her hand shifting to his shoulder and her other hand on his chin again. “Look at me.”

He scrunched up his face but after a second looked at her. Her eyes were soft but stern.

“Swimming takes like all the weird muscles in your body working together and your body hasn’t done that in a while. You’ve been running and that thing where you lay down on the bench with the bar and your shirt off and-” “Weight lifting, Devi, it’s called weightlifting,” he corrected, a small smile blooming on his face.

“Those are all different muscles that didn’t have to work together.” She tipped her face and kissed his chin. “Somebody super smart told me that. Somebody with some kind of vast knowledge about swimming.” She feigned ignorance.

“Me, I told you that,” he said, dryly. “Yes!” Her eyes lit up. “You told me that. So how about remembering what you said and realizing that it’s gonna take a minute to get back to where you were before?”

“Did you just kiss me to distract me from saying I suck?” Paxton looped his finger into the belt loop on her pants as an excuse to look away from how very hot she looked at this moment. Her lips slightly swollen from the kiss, her cheeks flush, and this piece of hair that was coming out of her ponytail and settling on the side of her cheek.

“LIke you haven’t kissed me to shut me up before,” she said, giving him a quick peck and stepping away from him. “So the plan is you keep working. You’ll get better. Soon those schools you sent emails to are gonna respond by saying they’re sending someone out to see you swim and then you’ll be basking in scholarships and good grades and trophies for being so fast and hot.” “Nobody is giving me something for being hot,” he said, trying to pull her back to him but she didn’t budge.

“Oh that’s me.” Devi said, digging into her backpack and pulling a notebook out. She pulled a pen out of her ponytail and scribbled something down on the paper, ripped it out, and handed it to him.

“Hottest, favorite boyfriend,” Paxton read off. “Really?”

“I’m being 800 percent honest,” Devi said.

He scoffed, but smiled. “I love y-, I love it. I love this dumb award.”

--

Paxton didn’t really have to work hard to swim. It came naturally to him. He would go to practice and he’d do the drills and work out, he was always focused. But he never had to work at it. It was effortless. But that was all before he broke his arm.

He didn’t suck. When he started back at it, he’d been slow. And his muscles were sore. But he kept practicing. A new problem quickly presented itself though. If he now had to work at swimming, he didn’t have a lot of time for school or for his social life. But Devi had a plan for that too.

As Paxton swam his laps, Devi was at the end of the pool on a chair. She was studying herself, but as Paxton came down, he’d pop his head up every rotation and lean on the edge of the pool. Devi would quiz him on whatever subject he needed to be studying. “My arms feel like they’re gonna fall off at the shoulder joint,” Paxton whined as he leaned on the edge of the pool in front of Devi. “Sounds awful but what’s the quadratic equation?” Devi held up a small whiteboard with several equations on it.

“It’s the second one, the negative b, plus or minus square root over…”

“Yes! You’re doing so well! But you’ve only done 400 meters, go faster, babe,” Devi gave him a chipper smile but he frowned. “What if instead of college, I join the peace corps? I hear that’s a great way to do good work around the world.”

“That’s a noble cause. But you don’t like having to skip In-n-Out for more than a week so I can’t imagine how well you’d fare in the peace corps in the middle of nowhere.” Devi took the whiteboard down and erased the quadratic equation and held up the board again with the other two mystery equations.

“The one on the left is Slope intercept and the other one is-” “If you can’t remember, that’s fine, go swim 100 meters and get back to me.” Paxton shook his head. “Nah, give me a minute, it’s area for a rectangle, no, no triangle.”

“Ding ding ding!” Devi jumped up and clapped, then got down lower so she could high five him. “You chose to answer the question rather than swim the laps. Did you just pick school over swim?”

“Yeah because my brain doesn’t hurt as much as my shoulders do.”

--

After eight weeks of training and studying at the same time, Paxton reached his limit. He considered telling his mom he was sick and staying home but something propelled him out of bed and to school. As he was heading to the pool building, Devi came running up behind him.

“Guess what?” she asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet. He smiled because even exhausted, it was impossible to not smile when Devi smiled.

“Your mom is going out of town and Kamala is working and you have the whole house to yourself so we can play strip twister in your living room?”

Devi stopped and frowned. “That’s your idea of fun if we had the house to ourselves?”

“No,” Paxton answered, shaking his head. “I’m pretty tired and that’s the best I’ve got on the fly but it doesn’t even sound that fun.”

She gave him a sympathetic look. “You can’t keep going like this.”

“Yeah, I can. And the fun thing I’d do if we had the house to ourselves?” Paxton perked up, trying to prove he was fine as he tugged on a strand of Devi’s hair. “Nap. We’d nap in your bed except it’d be the best nap because I’d sleep so good all snuggled up.”

Paxton moved closer to her and put an arm around her neck, pulling her into a hug. He whispered into her ear then, “I’d like to do more exciting things but nap first. Then I’ll-”

“Paxton, you can’t swim today,” Coach came walking down the hall and Paxton released Devi to a more suitable position so they didn’t get yelled at for excessive PDA in the halls.

“Why?”

“If it’s because I told that kid Moonbeam his name was stupid and he should try lacrosse instead of swimming, he started it Coach!” Devi cut in.

“What did Moonbeam ever…” But Coach shook his head and realized the futility of even asking for more context from Devi on whatever hijinks she was cooking. “Nah, Eric puked in the pool so it’s down for the next two days.” “Just for some puke?” Paxton asked, a little puke was a couple hours problem, not two days problem.

“It was a lot of puke, Paxton. You don’t really want more information than that,” Coach explained. “You’ve been working yourself to death though, why don’t you take your girlfriend out. Maybe she’ll stop fighting with Moonbeam if-” “I’m not gonna stop fighting with that kid, he’s a men’s rights activist raised by two moms. What’s wrong with him?” Devi argued.

“Devi, I appreciate you helping Paxton get his grades up and encouraging him in his workouts but you’re just too much for me to handle.” Coach shook his head.

“Fuck off,” Paxton said without thinking. He quickly covered his mouth and realized what he’d done. “Sorry. I guess I do need a day off.” Devi’s eyes were wide and Coach’s were too. Devi grabbed his hand and tugged.

“See you on Monday, Coach, I’ll make sure he rests,” Devi shouted from down the hall and then turned to Paxton when they were far enough away. “What were you thinking?”

“He didn’t have to say that to you! You’re not too much, he’s just…” Paxton made a face like he couldn’t figure out what insult to lob at his swim coach.

Devi gave him a half smile. “You need a nap, let’s go get you one, bud.”

--

It wasn’t until they were wrapped around each other on Paxton’s living room couch that he remembered Devi had some news that she was trying to tell him earlier. They were both on their sides, her back against his chest and his fingers were playing across the skin of her stomach, just under her shirt. She was looking at her phone and Paxton was almost asleep before he remembered.

“What were you bouncing in to tell me, after school?” He lifted his head up from her neck so he could see her face. She didn’t look at him but a smile spread across her face, the big kind, the one where her whole face lit up. The one she usually reserved for when he said something she really liked or when he complimented her.

“Oh.” She rolled on her back so she could look up at him, a wicked twinkle in her eye. “You sir, are an honor’s student.”

He furrowed his brows and frowned. “That’s not funny.”

Devi smiled wider, she looked at her phone for a second and then turned it so he could see it. “How did you login to my student account?” Paxton asked, confused, before he could even focus on the grades on the screen.

“Oh please, your password is MichaelPhelps420*. It’s not hard. You logged in on my laptop once.” She shook her head. “Look at your grades!”

He took the phone and scanned the screen. He couldn’t believe it. It didn’t seem real.

“Did you photoshop this? To make me feel better because I’m so worn out?” He looked down at her and she was beaming. “No, you got A’s in every class you’re taking right now.” She bit her lip quickly and then went back to smiling. “I mean technically it doesn’t do a lot for your cumulative GPA but you can still work it into college applications about how you improved and did well from junior year and on. Some bullshit about buckling down and working hard to excel. I’ll write something up.”

“You don’t have to write it up.” He put her phone on the arm of the couch above her head. “I’ll write it up myself with the goddamn A I have in English lit and Junior Comp!”

“Why are you taking a sophomore english lit and a junior composition, anyway?” Devi asked, confused.

“Oh, uh last year Coach had me take two PEs so I’d have more time in the pool but I forgot to take sophomore lit so I had to double up this year.”

“You took two PE classes last year and nobody noticed you missed a whole ass core class?” Devi seemed horrified but Paxton shrugged.

“I obviously didn’t care last year but now I do so here we are, fixing that.” Struck with a sudden surge of affection for the girl who believed he could be smart enough and work hard enough to get A’s instead of C’s, Paxton ran his thumb across her bottom lip.

Devi took that moment to lick her lip and by extension the pad of his thumb and Paxton had a different sudden kind of surge now, his jeans feeling entirely too tight for such close contact with his very smart and very hot girlfriend. Devi reached for his neck to bring him down to her and wedged a leg between his, giving him something to grind down on. He groaned into her mouth as she kissed him.

“Smart dudes are so hot,” she said, kissing along his jaw as he slid his hand along the skin of her stomach, inching his way up her torso.

“But I was hot before, right?” he asked, feeling uncomfortable with the new label of smart. She kissed under his ear and nipped at his lobe.

“So hot. Just always really hot, all the time,” Devi whispered, pushing her hips up into his.

His breath hitched at the movement and he closed his eyes for a second to try and keep his cool. When he opened his eyes, Devi was looking up at him and oh shit, what was that feeling in his shoulders and chest and stomach and...no, he wasn’t getting off, don’t be gross. Paxton was in love with Devi. Her bright skin and her smile that he lived for and the way her eyes crinkled at the corners and the way she looked at him like he could do anything and she was proud of him. “Devi-” he tried to say something but his mouth wouldn’t work. The words wouldn’t come out and he floundered like a fish. “What?” she asked, biting her bottom lip. There was no point in saying it. He leaned in closer and kissed her lips, gently pulling her bottom lip between his, sliding his tongue into her mouth. And then.

Then.

Then.

Paxton sat up. His arm was asleep from leaning on it, Devi was still in front of him but the tv was on, the hum of it quiet, and it was dark outside.

“Did I fall asleep?” he asked, unsure. But hearing his voice in his own ears, he’d definitely been sleeping.

“Yeah, right in the middle of the good part of making out,” Devi said dryly, without looking back at him, but pressing her ass into his crotch. “You’re really tired because you’ve never done that. I didn’t realize I was so boring.”

“I’m sorry.” He cringed and moved the hair from over her shoulder and kissed the bare bit of skin between her collar and her neck.

“Devi, make sure he drives you home before midnight, the couch isn’t nearly comfortable enough to sleep on,” Paxton’s mom said, walking through the living room with a big bag over her shoulder. “We’re doing inventory at the store so we’ll be there all night, Paxton, so take her home before midnight so you can get some rest. You’re running yourself ragged.” She leaned over the couch and ruffled his hair before she left.

“I told my mom I was staying at Fab’s the minute your mom mentioned overnight inventory, is that fine or do you wanna take me home?”

Paxton put his chin on Devi’s shoulder and tightened his arm over her stomach.

“It’s easier to keep you here instead of climbing in your window... so,” he said, sighing content to be right where he was. His stomach growled though, reminding him it had been a long time since lunch.

“Your mom ordered pizza, should be here soon,” Devi offered. She reached up her hand and pat his cheek, her attention still on her phone and the TV.

“Am I missing The Mummy? You should have woke me up!” Paxton pressed his lips to the skin of her neck like he was going to kiss her but instead blew a raspberry. “Eww,” Devi whined, but couldn’t help but laugh. “Am I not paying enough attention to you or something?” She sat up and it was Paxton’s turn to whine.

“No, come back.” He lifted himself up and kissed her, gently guiding her back down to her back on the couch, this time he was hovering over her.

“Oh, now you want to make out? Sure you’re not gonna fall asleep again?” Devi looked up at him through her long lashes and oh no, there it was again. That feeling.

“I’m sorry I fell asleep, but some of us don’t coast to A’s, we gotta work our asses off.” “Shut up, you know I don’t coast to A’s. I work for them. That’s why I’m the best peer tutor out there, because I know anybody can work for good grades. Nobody’s stupid... like permanently.” She slid her hand up his chest and tugged on his collar to get him to kiss her but he wanted to hear more of what she was saying. “You really think anybody can be smart, don’t you? You’re the smartest girl at school and you really believe anybody can do that.” He slid his hand up her neck to cradle her cheek.

“It’s called a growth mindset. There’s not much you can’t improve upon if you work at it.” Devi scrunched up her face. “Well. I’ll never swim like you. You’ve got too much innate talent. But I could work hard and come close. But I’m gonna leave that to you. Exercise can fuck right off.”

Paxton laughed. “What about your innate talent at school?”

“Doesn’t exist.” Devi tugged on his shirt to bring him down to kiss her. This time he went. She sighed into him and parted her lips, and balled her fist into his shirt like she was desperate to get closer to him.

“Got some innate talent there,” he said against her lips. “I’ve kissed a lot of girls and you’re the best.” “You’re full of shit,” she said, kissing along his jaw.

Paxton wanted to argue but the doorbell rang and his stomach rumbled again, reminding him of the food he definitely needed to eat.

“Ohhh, my meat lover is here,” Devi said, pushing him over so she could jump up from the couch. She turned around realizing what she said and pointed at him accusingly. “No time for jokes, I’m starving and I know you are too.”

After they ate, Paxton wanted to settle right back into the couch, pick up where they left off, but the doorbell rang again. Before he could get the door, Becca came in from work and looked at him funny. “There’s a dude on the doorstep that says Devi told him to come?” His sister went straight for the pizza.

“Steve!” Devi shouted from her seat at the table.

“Who?” Paxton asked.

A tall Asian guy in a tracksuit with a folding table and a bag let himself in. “Hey, Devi, where should I set up?”

“In the garage, I’ll show you,” Devi walked past Paxton with a slice of pizza still in her hand. “You want some pizza, Steve?”

“I’ll get some after,” Steve replied, nodding at Paxton in greeting. He held out his hand. “I’m Steve. I think I sorta met you once? I was sneaking out of the Vishwakumar house, I think you were trying to get in?”

“I have no idea what is going on,” Paxton said, shaking Steve’s hand before following Devi to the garage. “Devi?”

“Sorry, bud, this is Steve.” She waved over her shoulder. “He’s Kamala’s ex, he was climbing in windows at our house before even you were.”

Paxton looked at Steve again who nodded in affirmation. “It’s a nice roof.”

“Okay but why is Steve here?”

“Steve is in sports medicine and he’s here to massage your shoulders so you’ll quit complaining,” Devi explained before taking a bite of the piece of pizza in her hand. “It’s good for you!”

Steve slipped by Paxton into the garage with his table and his bag and started to set up.

“You got me a massage?” Paxton asked, surprised and touched.

“I didn’t like hire someone. Steve’s doing it for free because he’s a nice guy but yeah, I got you a massage. You deserve it for all the work you’ve done lately.” Devi stood on her tiptoes and kissed Paxton’s nose. “I’m gonna go see what Becca’s working on. Have fun, boys.” And then she was gone.

--

There was only one week left until the time trials and Paxton hadn’t heard back from any of the schools. Maybe his grades weren’t good enough. Devi said the cumulative GPA wouldn’t improve enough until next year. Maybe his times weren’t fast enough? Maybe he should revisit the peace corps idea? Or consider a community college. That felt like a loss but Devi would spin it. Actually, he was so used to her spinning bad news he could do that himself.

A community college was cheaper and he could save money living at home, improve his GPA and it was easier to transfer to a good school when you did well in a community college environment. Maybe that was gonna be the thing that worked.

School was feeling stuffy so he skipped fourth period and got In-N-Out. He brought back Devi a double double and met her outside of her fourth period class as it dismissed. “Where’s my double double?” Fab asked Paxton, seeing the bag. “Right here,” he said, moving his hand to show a second bag with a burger for Fab, Eleanor, and Trent. “I didn’t know what your order was Aneesa so I just got some extra fries for you, hope that’s cool.”

They ate outside comfortably until Ben Gross came to collect his girlfriend. What girls saw in that jerk, Paxton had no idea, but he was happy to see Ben wisk Aneesa away instead of sitting down to hang out. Paxton was not interested in that, especially today, while feeling hopeless and talking himself into community college.

“Check your email,” Devi whispered as Trent tried to convince Eleanor that actually scary movies were a higher form of cinema than musicals.

“I’m trying not to think about it,” he told her, looking off in the distance and noticing Jonah Sharpe doing some dance that you’d think he was filming a tiktok for but since it was Jonah, he was probably just doing that.

“Somebody is gonna get back to you,” Devi tried, her bright eyes hopeful and sure.

“Or I’m going to save so much money by going to community college and living at home.” Paxton’s knee began to shake before Devi put her hand on it and squeezed. “It’s fine.” But he didn’t have that kind of faith.

--

The time trials were on Saturday and Paxton had already thrown up once from nerves. Then again from being embarrassed. He was a failure. A couple of schools replied to his requests but they all said the best bet was to try walking on to the swim team when he got to the school. As if he could get into these schools on his academics enough? What a joke. He was a joke and soon everyone would know it.

The worst part was that Devi wasn’t even around. She said she was coming. He offered to pick her up on the way but she declined, saying she had to run an errand before. Paxton thought it might be an excuse to surprise him with some grand gesture or at least breakfast beforehand but he was just about to start warming up and she still wasn’t around.

Maybe she didn’t want to be there to witness the embarrassment of not a single scout showing up. Sure, the time trials were necessary for next season’s swim team and he might even be chosen as captain, but was swimming even worth it anymore? If it didn’t get him to college and now he had to work at it, why bother?

Paxton took another look at the clock and put his airpods in, turning up some music to try and get him in the right headspace to race. Even if he was just racing against his own best time.

The minute he saw Devi walk through the door, his shoulders felt lighter. At least he still had Devi.

She practically skipped over to where he was sitting on the bleachers. She was wearing the skirt she wore the day he took his first test in history that he actually studied for. He got a B and yes, he studied and yes Devi wearing the skirt was not the reason he did well but he was superstitious sometimes and this seemed like a good sign. He reached for her and tugged her closer by putting his hand on the back of her thigh, under her skirt. He didn’t care what it looked like, touching her skin calmed him down even further. And okay, he was nervous and doing something risque like that felt like an act of confidence. Things were looking up.

“What, did you think I was gonna ditch you? Today of all days?” she asked when he pressed his face against her chest.

“No...yes, I don’t know what I thought, I’m freaking the fuck out,” he admitted, looking up at her. “Nobody is even coming to see me so what’s the point? I’m going to community college and you deserve somebody better who can get into several Ivies and-” Devi smacked the back of his head, interrupting him. “Shut up!”

“Ow.” He rubbed the back of his head, before Devi leaned over and kissed his forehead. “Let go of my leg so you can make a good impression, dork,” she said, surprising him and stepping out of his reach.

“But nobody is coming?” When he stood up to get closer, he noticed an asian man behind Devi, he had a swimmer’s body (generally speaking, broad shoulders and slender all the way down, like a carrot) but he had glasses on and he looked well, like a nerd.

“Hi Paxton,” the man offered his hand. “I’m Daniel Choi. I’m doing my PHD work at Princeton.”

“Nice to meet you,” Paxton said, shaking his hand but still confused.

“Devi said you were particularly interested in history, in Japanese American diaspora in the western US and how those communities developed culturally after internment? We have some grad students doing some work that lines up with that well in our department.”

“The history department at Princeton,” Paxton verified. “The one in New Jersey?”

“Yeah, also they have sports there,” Devi added, a slow smile spreading across her face. “Tell him about the sports, Dan.”

“I was on the swim team when I was an undergrad and now I’m an assistant coach for the team. I was at a conference at UCLA when Devi contacted me.”

“You contacted an assistant coach for the Princeton swim team while he was at a conference here? Devi, did you stalk this poor man?”

Devi smacked the back of his head again.

“No, I wouldn’t do that.” Devi glared offended. Paxton gave her a knowing look. “Okay, I didn’t have to do that because I already knew Dan because of a project last year I was doing with Asian Americans in southern California history specifically. I just remembered he was a swimmer.”

“You called in a Princeton favor for me? You used one of the connections that could get you into school for me?” That rush of affection, the flip of his stomach, he loved her so much. Not because she’d done this for him, but because he knew she’d do that for anyone who needed it. And he needed the favor and she didn’t hesitate to call it in.

“Well,” Dan cut in, “I was looking to diversify our department.”

Paxton’s stomach dropped. “I’m a diversity hire?”

Dan nodded, seemingly unaware of Paxton’s shift in demeanor. “Yes, we need somebody who isn’t all nerd all the time. At least two of the grad students didn’t even know Princeton had sports teams. I need a jock in there that I can trust to do good work.”

Paxton laughed, relieved. “I didn’t really settle on history though, I was so focused on getting into school that I-” “Devi explained that. So yeah, there’s the catch. If your times are good and you and I get along, the issue is going to be dependent on your wanting to study in the history department. There’s not a lot of money in it but it’s honest work.”

Paxton nodded, turning over the idea of history as a major before being snapped out of it by Coach.

“Let’s go, we’re starting with 200 free,” Coach shouted.

“I’ll let you get to it, I’m excited to see you swim.” Dan offered his hand again and Paxton shook it.

Devi started to follow Dan to the bleachers but Paxton grabbed her arm and swung her around to him, crashing his lips into hers as soon as he could manage. Teeth bumped and noses got in the way, but he didn’t care. Devi was out of breath by the time Paxton let up.

“Okay,” Devi muttered, clearly having lost her train of thought. She looked up at him, still hazy, and he couldn’t stop it this time.

“I love you,” he spit out. “Not because you do shit like call in favors for Princeton, but because you gave me a piece of paper that said best hottest boyfriend.”

“You love me because I called you hot?” she asked, a laugh in her voice.

“No, I love you and it just happened. Effortlessly. Like how I used to swim without work. I just do. It just happened. I’m not even sure how.” He gulped, worried that she wasn’t understanding.

Devi looked down for a moment before looking back at him, a wicked grin spreading across her face. “Would you say you have an innate talent for loving me?”

“Yeah,” he said, pushing some hair behind her ear. “Hopefully you’ve also got some innate talent for-”

She kissed him, pressing into him hard and scratching at the back of his neck.

“Paxton, we’d like to start sometime today,” Coach said after blowing his whistle. Devi pulled away quickly, smiling wide. “Go on, babe, you’ve got this.”

--

“You said you hated the layouts in Whitman,” Devi said, sitting with Paxton on her porch. He’d come home for the summer and Devi’s graduation was next weekend. But that was all settled. The more pressing issue was where Devi was going to be living at Princeton.

“I did but it’s still coed so you and I could request the same building. Plus it is close to the pool.”

“But I don’t need to go to the pool,” Devi said, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah you do, to see me.” Paxton kissed the side of her head. He had missed being with her all the time. "It's close to the bio building which is where most of your classes are gonna be because you already took your core classes in AP this year."

"Maybe I'll change my mind and be a chiropractor?" Her tongue was in between her teeth and she smiled coyly.

"Your mother would disown you." Paxton had a point. "And you wouldn't make it five minutes in some sketch chiropractor place because you'd be correcting everyone about how it's not real medicine."

They tried to break up when he left for Princeton. It seemed reasonable, mature. Paxton knew very well about Devi’s out of sight, out of mind problem and Devi felt like she was holding him back when he could be having some kind of wild college bro experience as a freshman at Princeton. But when he came home for Thanksgiving, he spent all his time with Devi, as platonically as they could make it. By Christmas they had sex the night he got home and by Spring Break, they were back together fully. They didn’t want to be apart. They wanted to be together.

Eleanor and Fab came out of the house with bottles of water for everyone.

“Why don’t you two just get an apartment?” Fab asked.

“What if they get an apartment and hate each other? That happens, you know? Stop acting like they’ll be together forever.” Paxton’s brow furrowed. “Shit, that was my plan.”

“Mine too,” Devi said with a shrug. “But we have to live on campus for the first year at least, but by the second year they’re so low on housing that you can move off campus. So next year, yeah?”

“Yep,” Paxton agreed.

--

[toongrrl-blog]

[harmonizingsunsets]

Invariable

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32719021

The when and the where of falling for him doesn't matter. Whatever moment it'd been cemented one fact into reality, contradictory in its existence but irrevocably true.

It’s always been Ben.

[edwinspaynes]

Author Interview

I'm shamelessly stealing this from @my-archerboy because I want to play.

1. How many works do you have on ao3:

-> 87.

2. What’s my total ao3 wc:

-> 508,202

3. What are my top 5 fics by kudos:

Dancing in a Snowglobe Round and Round

We Found Wonderland (You and I Got Lost in It)

A Ghost in the Back of This Room

February 14: A Story of Years

A Therapeutic Chain of Events

4. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

-> I try to, but sometimes I forget because of ADHD reasons.

5. What fic has the angstiest ending?

-> Aw man, I don't like angst and don't really write it. I guess I'll go with my most bittersweet ending, which I think is probably The Stars Are Aligned (So Save That Heart for Me). It features Thomas and Alastair's reincarnations meeting for the first time before beginning a relationship.

6. What fic has the happiest ending?

-> Almost all of my fics have happy endings, so idk how to answer this. The one I think has the happiest ending will be an extremely controversial pick, though, because I know people usually read it as bittersweet. I pick A Ribbon of Dream. Thomas and Alastair have grown old together and are very happy.

7. Do you write crossovers?

-> Nope. Though I sometimes feel a strong compulsion to write a fic about Matthew Fairchild meeting Devi Vishwakumar, because I think very few things could be funnier.

8. Have you received hate on ao3?

-> Once, someone yelled at me for writing a Ben/Aneesa fanfic in the NHIE fandom. I just deleted the comment. I have gotten hate for my TSC fic on Tumblr, though.

9. Do you write smut?

-> Yes, but I need to be comfortable writing the characters. This means that I only write smut for Thomas/Alastair and Will/Tessa right now. I likely will feel able to write some stuff about Matthew/LI too because I'm so comfortable with Matthew, but those who know me will know that I do have some fandom-related trauma that will make writing smut about him very difficult. I may be able to do it if I explicitly age him up to be a DILF.

10. Have you had a fic get stolen?

-> I sure hope not.

11. Have you had a fic get translated?

-> Nope, but that's okay!

12. Have you co-written a fic?

-> I haven't, I'm pretty set in my writing processes and would only attempt it with a couple of people.

13. What’s your fav ship?

-> Thomas/Alastair

14. What’s a WIP you want to finish but never will?

-> This Alastair + Grace BFF story about them Christmas shopping. I hit a massive roadblock with it, set it aside, and never finished. Christmas has now passed, so ... alas.

15. What are my writing strengths?

-> I'm good at describing locations, expressions, and emotions. I actually know that I'm a good writer and am not going to pretend otherwise. I think that my strongest character to write is Matthew, followed closely by Alastair.

16. What are my writing weaknesses?

-> In fic? Plotting. I hate plotting. I like writing fluff and hurt/comfort. This is because I actually don't care about the plot of TID or TLH, I just adore the series because spending time with the characters is a joy.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages on ao3?

-> I don't speak Persian, Spanish, or Welsh, which would be the languages that would really help me. So, no. I do use small words and phrases, especially terms of endearment.

18. What’s the first fandom you wrote for?

-> Urusei Yatsura. I was like 12. I still occasionally write for it.

19. What fandom/ship have you not written but want to?

-> A Charm of Magpies, specifically Stephen/Lucien. I hope to write a little of them this year! One of my new year's resolutions is also to write more Jordelia fic.

20. What’s your fav fic you’ve written?

-> A Therapeutic Chain of Events, and also perhaps A Ribbon of Dream in a different way.