#do i need to set reminder alarms to eat now???

[sage-nebula]

I'm taking a new medication to try to prevent headaches since I was having a 50% headache rate (think like five headaches in ten days) and needing four ibuprofen at a time to deal with them, and apparently one of the side effects is decreased appetite bc I didn't feel hungry AT ALL today until 8pm tonight and as consequence I didn't consume anything other than 3 cookies and 2 cups of coffee. Oops.

[bettsfic]

today is my birthday! i’m 33 today and i have done an ungodly amount of stupid shit in my life that honestly probably should have gotten me killed. so here are 33 hard-won things i’ve learned that i wish someone had told me sooner.

whenever you buy an object, you are going to own that object for your entire life unless you make the conscious decision to throw it away or give it a new home. maybe other people don’t struggle with this as much as i do, but i’ve grown to become a little exhausted by finding a thing and realizing i don’t want it anymore, but i don’t have the energy or motivation to do anything with it. signed, a woman with a packed 10x10 storage unit who is now extremely hesitant to buy new things.

food, and by that i mean good food (and by that i don’t necessarily mean healthy food, but food of good quality that you love), is necessary to live, and buying it, preparing it, and eating it is not a chore. the sooner you accept this and make food a priority in your life, the healthier you’ll be. 

speaking of food, not everything you buy should be the cheapest version of it. personally i’ve found it’s always worth it to splurge on good olive oil, butter, and canned tomatoes. for years i thought i was an awful cook because i was cooking with cheap, disgusting olive oil that made my food taste like shit.

speaking of food part 2, i can’t BELIEVE how long this took me to figure out, but mise en place is the real real. get your shit out and organized and prepped *before* you start cooking, even if it makes things take longer. and yes, it is always worth it to do the dishes as you go, which pisses me off.

when i was teaching myself how to cook and feeling daunted about it, the best advice i ever got was to aim to learn 15 recipes and then put them in rotation.

this is the most horrific and awful truth i have forced myself to accept: there may come a day you can no longer digest your favorite foods, and you will either have to stop eating them, or remain very close to a toilet. i’m sorry.

other people are always going to misperceive you and misunderstand you, sometimes willfully. other people’s opinions of you don’t actually have anything to do with you. they’re not your business, and you don’t have to worry about it or change yourself.

when innocuous or neutral things make you irrationally angry or upset, step back, realize you’re having a big reaction, and then when you’re ready, pay very close attention to the thing that upset you, because you’re about to learn something important about yourself.

a pill sorter can save your life. i don’t know how i managed my meds without one.

sometimes college is about learning stuff, and not about becoming something.

no matter how many perfectionist tendencies you have, it’s worth it to remind yourself that no matter how much of a mess you actually are, you deserve to be loved.

if you’re always forgetting to do important but tedious things, set an alarm and set aside one hour of each week, not to do the important tedious things, but to assess what needs to be done, and *schedule* the important tedious things for the following week. this literally changed my life.

during that hour, make a meal plan too. the point of doing this is condense the time in which you’re making decisions (what to do, what to eat, etc) so you don’t have to burden yourself with them throughout the week. decision fatigue is real. any way you can alleviate that is a good thing.

learn the difference between aggressive, passive, passive-aggressive, and assertive behavior. recognize when you’re being one of the first three, re-assess and aim for being assertive, even if it’s hard.

you can tell you’ve processed trauma, not when the traumatic thing stops upsetting you to think about, but when the traumatic thing takes up the same size in your brain as all your other memories.

if you’re one of those people who never seems to finish projects or follow through with things, there’s a chance you may just grow out of it naturally. until then, follow your interests and don’t feel bad about putting down a hobby to pick up another.

if you love stickers but have sticker anxiety, buy vinyl stickers. you can re-stick them.

there are only a few careers i can think of that you have to commit to early in life because getting the undergraduate credentials is a pain in the ass (teachers, doctors, and engineers, from my research). nearly everything else you can switch to later, which takes a LOT of pressure off having to figure out what you want to do with your life.

people say there’s no money in becoming an artist, writer, musician, etc. actually there’s a ton of money in all of those things, it’s just in the stuff other people want you to make and never what you want to make. it’s still worth it to develop the creative skill and not force yourself into business school because it’s more “practical” or whatever. 

sleep when you’re tired. SLEEP WHEN YOU’RE TIRED. don’t beat yourself up about it, don’t tell yourself you shouldn’t be tired or that you’ve already slept too much, just take a fucking nap. you would never say “hm i’ve already had enough water today, therefore i should not be thirsty” so don’t treat sleep the same way.

when you build a piece of furniture from target or ikea or whatever, the first thing you should do is count all the little screws and things to make sure everything’s there that should be. it sucks to get halfway into putting something together only to find there’s a piece missing and you have to go buy it.

learn to travel by yourself, go out to eat by yourself, see a movie by yourself. in my early 20s i was scared to do these things, but i do them so often now i don’t even think about it. it’s the most fulfilling skill i’ve ever learned.

adding to the above, if you’re a people-pleaser, being alone is especially important, because you’ve probably developed the habit of making the people you’re with more comfortable and happy than yourself, and you’re missing a lot of the beautiful and interesting things around you. when you’re by yourself, you can focus on what *you* want without guilt. 

sometimes you’ll want to break things off with a friend for reasons that are no one’s fault, and you don’t want it to be volatile or make a big thing of it, in which case the goal is to simply fade out of their life. it is okay to let people go.

shame is useless. get rid of it.

no matter how much of yourself you put into your art (or writing, or music, or whatever), when people criticize it, they are not criticizing you. they are having a reaction colored by their own tastes and perspectives. their opinion of your work has nothing to do with you. you don’t have to take everyone’s feedback. in fact you don’t have to take anyone’s feedback. the other side to this coin unfortunately is that compliments don’t have anything to do with you either. it’s good to accept this because it means you’ll stop seeking validation from other people and won’t let anyone else’s perspectives impact your work. anything nice anyone says about your work is merely a bonus to an already good thing.

if you’re an artist of any kind, take one day a year to look up opportunities like grants, funding, residencies, workshops, whatever. put the due dates of all of them on a calendar for the year following and get into the habit of applying for stuff. getting rejected sucks, application fees suck, but in all the years i’ve been doing this, it has always, always been worth it. these things give you a chance not only to help fund and support what you’re passionate about, but they force you to take your own work seriously, and that is something that’s absolutely necessary in order to be successful.

you must become your own greatest advocate. in all respects--in health, in love, in happiness, in freedom, you must. no one will ever fight as hard for you as you will. this in turn will give you the strength and motivation to help others fight for themselves too. the only way the world will ever get better is if every person on this planet learns to see themselves as equals to everyone around them.

brag about yourself as often as you can. for one, people develop their perceptions of you based on how you treat yourself and speak about yourself. but for two, it’s the fastest way to figure out which people to keep in your life, because they’re the ones who are going “oh hell yeah, you’re awesome.” 

be the person other people want to brag to.

at some point in your life, someone is going to hurt you, and it’s going to be willful and intentional. it is not worth it to waste brain space figuring out why they did it or why you think you deserved it. all you have to do is let yourself feel that pain, acknowledge it, and try to move on.

no matter how bad off you think you are, recovery is possible. the first and hardest step is to learn you’re worth the time and effort it takes to recover from the awful things that have happened to you.

developing an expertise does not mean you’re getting objectively better at something. becoming an expert is only the process of seeing your mistakes and having the patience to sit in the discomfort of not knowing how to fix them.    

[hwanchaesong]

Folklore: A Trilogy (August)

Childhood friend!Jake X F!Reader

Synopsis: Ever since you left home to pursue the city life, you really did think that everything was over. Then you returned, and you still see him there. Will something rekindle and burn inside you once more?

word count: 24.6k

genre & warnings: fluff, angst, smut, childhood friends, kind of slowburn, summer love/fling au, this fic is taylor swift inspired (maybe you'll also see other song references but who knows), mentions of bullying & childhood trauma, cursing, drinking, party/festival, country side & small town settings, fights, jealousy, built up sexual tension, implied situationship, lies lies lies, sop (with bf!sunghoon), cheating (zont zo this, stay loyal!), oral m&f rec, fingering, nipple play, dry humping, overstimulation, creampie, kitchen sex, bedroom sex lmao, multiple unprotected (wrap before you tap!) sex scenes, appearance of other idols, & reminder!! the idols' characters here do not mirror real life! not proof read! etc etc mdni

a/n: this is the first part of the Folklore: Trilogy, which focuses on Jake aka our August. also the longest fic that i have ever written for now 🥲 and yes, i changed the 'aesthetic' moodboard bc i am obsessed with this kind of layouts lately 👺

ps. likes, comments, reblogs are all appreciated! let me know what you think y'all. thank you so much and enjoy! 🩷

🎧 playlist

You stretched your back, muscles cramping from seven hours of traveling, drawing in the conventional briny ocean breeze that passes through the air as you stepped onto the sandy sidewalk, opening the brown gates and the creaking metal alarmed the people inside the building of your arrival.

"Well, aren't you home earlier than expected?" your mother greets you, giving you a welcoming hug when you enter the house and you take notice of something delicious wafting around your nostrils.

"Yes, there wasn't much traffic on the way here," you returned her embrace after dropping your bags on the floor, "and I smell something good." you remarked, heading towards the kitchen to find your dad bustling in front of the stove and your little brother mixing something in a bowl.

"They're chefs now." your mother jokes, following you in the kitchen and making small talk when the men of the house told you two to sit back and relax, to let them do the work this time.

"Wow dad," you peeked over his shoulders and you almost drooled at the delicacy he's concocting, "your cooking skills have greatly improved."

"Me too!" the youngest of your family spoke, walking over to you and nudging you with his elbow, "Look, I made your favorite dessert."

You lovingly ruffled his hair and ignored his complaints, knowing that he secretly loves it, "You're doing great as well, Riki."

You assisted with setting the table, sitting down in your usual spot and helping yourself to a large portion of food, wolfing the grub with the utmost gratitude because seriously, dorm and university meals kind of suck.

While eating, your mother decided to bring up a topic that you dare say, plain horrendous and tedious, "Now that you're here, you should come with us to the town fiesta before your summer break ends."

You groaned, not liking the idea of spending your beloved summer around other people, only wanting to be a couch potato, to sleep, eat and play games all day long.

"Don't be like that!" your father chides, eating a spoonful of the tiramisu that Riki made before speaking, "Besides, your old friends will be there. Aren't you excited to see them?"

Old friends. Pft.

Can you even consider those people your friends when all they ever did during your elementary and highschool years was to approach you whenever they needed something?

You hated them, really, they are one of the many reasons why you were determined to depart from your hometown. You only come back here from time to time because of your family. The moment you set foot into the city, you've already cut those stupid, snarky bitches in your life.

"Come to think of it, Jake will be there." Riki added, then you paused.

Jake? The aussie boy whom you've spent most of your childhood with? The same Jake who gifted you the largest teddy bear that he won in a shooting range in a local carnival?

You cautiously peered at your brother, asking him a mindless question for good measure, "Jake with a government name of Sim Jaeyun?"

"Yep, good 'ol Jake. Do you know that I'm taller than him now?" he snickers, visualizing the older boy's rage if he hears that comment.

"He's still here?" you asked once more, because surely, you thought that he's gone by now. Back to Australia to pursue a career there, it's what he has informed you before going your separate ways for college.

"Of course, where else would he be?" Riki side-eyed you then realization flashed on his face, "I get it."

"You get what?"

"You missed him." he wiggled his eyebrows teasingly that it had you slapping his shoulder in an attempt to terminate his annoying ass down.

"I don't! I was asking because he told me that he w-"

"Excuses, excuses." he cuts you off, waving his hand around dismissively, "I'm so gonna tell him that you missed him so dearly."

"Really?" you crossed your arms over your chest, a challenging aura radiating off of you, "Go ahead then, guess I'll give the clothes I bought to Sunoo and Jungwon."

He whined, you gave him the cold-shoulder, he pulled your hair, you yelled at him and you nearly went nuts when he licked your spoon filled with the last tidbits of the chocolate goodness. (which he knows is your pet peeve.)

Before a fight breaks out, your parents ushered you both to your respective rooms, saying that they'll take care of the dishes. Rubbing their foreheads and saying something along the lines of 'sibling dynamics never change.'

While showering, you pondered over the invitation, maybe you should go. Check out what's new, totally not because of a certain someone... you think?

Jake was your closest companion back then, a kind person with a heart of gold. If anything, you'd call him your true friend. He made you laugh, shared his food with you, and did everything together; attached to the hip like you two were born from the same seed.

Not until he told you that he's moving back to Australia to attend a university that he's been dreaming of since he was young.

You remembered crying yourself to sleep that day, then you made the decision to study in the city because there is no way in hell you'll survive college life here without your one and only friend.

So it really was a surprise to you when Riki revealed that he's still here. Does that mean that moving out was nothing but a mistake on your part? Does that mean that you could've stayed here and lived a peaceful life instead of hustling in a swarming city?

You shook your head, 'Y/N, don't be silly.' If you didn't explore outside your small town, then you wouldn't have the chance to meet him.

A giddy smile crept up your lips at the thought of your boyfriend. One day, you'll bring him here and he'll definitely love the area, especially the lake when it's frozen so he could skate on it, then you'll be there beaming then-

You slapped your soapy cheeks with both hands, scolding yourself for daydreaming, 'Stop being a delulu! It's only been a few months since you started dating him!'

You quickly rinsed and dried your hair, changing into some of your comfortable childhood pajamas and letting yourself fall into dreamland.

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

"What the fu-" you must have resembled that one Morty meme when he woke up, because who on earth is making all the noise downstairs when it's... oh, it's 1 PM. Dang, you slept that long? Like a log even.

You went to the bathroom and freshened yourself up, and when you deemed yourself presentable enough, you headed down to check what the commotion was about.

You definitely heard Riki shouting, but there is someone else. A voice that is eerily familiar but is somehow foreign to your ears.

You steadily walked into the living room, ceasing when you detected a mop of long black hair sitting next to your brother's shorter one.

"Huh?" you unconsciously uttered, catching the attention of the boys who are currently playing Mario Kart.

"Y/N?"

The rotation of the earth seemed to slow down when you saw him again.

There he was, the old friend that saved you from a gloomy childhood.

"Jake?" you hesitantly called out, making him smile, nodding his head in your direction before standing up and lurching towards you for a bone crushing hug.

"Y/N!"

"Jake!"

You hugged each other for what felt like hours, disconnecting when Riki cleared his throat, standing up from his position on the couch and retreating in the kitchen, "Imma go and fetch us some snacks, call me when you're done being lovey-dovey."

You rolled your eyes at your sibling's sass, returning your attention to the sunny boy in front of you.

"How are you? You look great!" he beams, tightly holding your hand in his while he scans you from head to toe.

It kind of made you self conscious, wishing that you should've made an effort to dress better but hey! He's your sweet, lovely Jake, you’re assured that there's no ill intention behind his stare.

"I’m good, busy with college and all. How about you? You look fine as heck!" you answered him with all the sincerity that you could muster, especially at the last part of your statement.

He looks great, like really great. You’ll even say that he’s transformed into an actual disney prince.

You do hark back to him being one of the rare good looking bunch of kids , but boy, did you not expect puberty to hit him like a bullet train.

Given that Riki is taller than him (man did not lie), his visuals are insane. He retained his puppy-like eyes, prominent cheekbones that were the result of his baby fats disappearing, his tall nose and jawline that are now sharper than a knife, and his lips.. his godforsaken lips. It's fuller and thicker, and not to mention, his beige skin is glowing.

He's a totally different person from what you can remember, and the more you observe him, the more you discern how much of a man he became. Only did you realize that you were blanking out when his phone rang, and being the nosey person that you are, you couldn't help but peek at the caller.

'Yuna.'

Oh, so he has a girlfriend. Well, you should have expected that. A pretty boy like him would surely bag any girl that he wanted.

"Right, I'll be there in ten." he ended the call and turned to you with an apologetic smile, "Guess we'll continue this talk later."

"I don’t mind, no problem."

Perfect if you say so, it'll give you some extra time to relax and sink the newfound information in your brain, that your childhood friend grew up into a dashing, debonair man.

"Here, give me your number so we could easily communicate." he hands you his phone, allowing you to type and save your contact.

"You're leaving?" just then, Riki emerges from the kitchen, holding a tray of munchies and setting it on the coffee table.

"Yeah, sorry man, I need to do something."

Riki side-eyes his friend with a sarcastic hum. (you think that side-eyeing people is his new habit from the amount of times he did it within a short span of time.)

"Do something or do someone?" Riki haphazardly asked, making Jake glance at you nervously, an awkward chuckle erupting from him.

"It's not like that," he glances at the clock, clicking his tongue and bidding his goodbyes, "I gotta go now. Y/N, I'll text you later."

He waves at you both, bolting through the door and Riki lets out a sardonic laugh, "Look at that fuckboy, so ready to get his dick wet."

"Hey," you pinched Riki's cheek, earning yourself a pained drone from him, "watch it. Since when did you learn vulgar words like that."

He swats your hand away, "Since birth. Ouch! Stop it!" he protests when you start pinching him more, not appreciating his raw sass.

"But really, he's a fuckboy now?" you inquired, flopping on the couch and grabbing a cookie from the plate, chomping on it while you watch Riki pour some juice for you two.

"Why? Are you jealous?" he teased, doing that same taunting eyebrow wiggle that you hate so much.

"I will literally choke you." you threatened, making him raise his hands up in surrender.

"Simmer down." he sat next to you, exiting Mario Kart and opting to play some anime on Netflix, "I don't know if it's true or not, but word from others is that Jake's been screwing girls since last year."

"Is that so?" you nonchalantly replied, listening to your brother gossip but then you got lost in your own thoughts.

The rumors are bad, but you somehow can't bring yourself to believe it. In the short amount of time since you've left, maybe some things have really changed. You wouldn't know, you weren't here to witness it.

You shrugged and watched the anime playing on the tv, something about a reincarnated slime. This is a good distraction instead of waiting for Jake to text you.

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

You don't know what came over you when you heard your phone go off, the message notification sound making your heart skip a bit. You hurriedly got off your vanity and laid down on your bed, gripping the phone and opening the text.

'Hey Y/N! Jake here, this message is kinda late, so sorry, I got caught up with something.'

You smiled and saved his number, typing in a reply... which you didn't give much consideration to and now you are regretting your uninhibited decisions for sending that.

You (8:45 PM):

Got caught up by your girlfriend? Who was she again, Yuna?

Jake (8:46 PM):

You saw that?

Noo, it wasn't like that I swear. I helped her fix her brother’s computer. She is just a friend, nothing more, nothing less.

Again, you don't know what came over you as you rolled over your bed, staggering at the fact that he's explaining himself even though he’s not required to. And you guessed you took too long to reply when your phone buzzed, signaling that he's calling you.

You straightened your back, clicking the green button, "Hello," his voice sounded gruff over the speaker, "are you mad? Promise, she's not my girlfriend or anything. Please don't be mad."

Straight to the point, you see, and his chatterbox personality still comes out whenever he gets mousy about something.

"Jake, chill out." you giggled when you heard his relieved sigh from the other side, "I'm not mad at you, I just did something for a while." you lied, "Besides, why would I be angry if you got a girlfriend?"

There was a beat of silence before he spoke, "I mean, we did make a promise back then so.." he trails off, and the flashback about your salad days takes over.

"Promise me that I'll be the only girl in your life!" you cried, smacking little Jake on the head.

"Ack!" he yowled, his tiny hands flying to the stinging area of his skull.

You were being unreasonable, but the thought of losing Jake to that ugly girl in class 2-A made your younger self throw a tantrum. Wailing like a toddler while stomping around the empty playground.

"Y/N! I didn't do it on purpose! She touched me first!" Jake tried to explain, sprinting to you when you accidentally tripped on a rock, face planting on the dirt, "Are you okay?!"

You hurriedly sat up, not wanting to look weak despite your crying and looked at him, staring at his teary eyes, maybe you are being unfair to him.

You sniffled, wiping your tears away before mumbling, "Just promise me."

Jake sighs, dropping to his knees in front of you and holding his pinky finger out, linking it with yours forcefully but with care, "I promise you, in the name of all my ancestors, that you'll be the one and only girl in my life!" he exclaims, giving you a toothy smile that immediately soothes all your stupid concerns.

"Well, except for my mom and Layla... and maybe some relatives."

You bit your lower lip, heart rate speeding up, "You haven't forgotten about that? We're like, what? Eight?"

"I take my pinky promises seriously!" he declares, making you laugh heartily at his mindless yet captivating jest.

"So, wanna catch up? Let's hang out at the beach." he suddenly proposed, catching you off guard. You peeked at the clock, it's nearing 9 PM but oh well, you're old enough to do this, unlike before that you had to sneak out of the house just to meet up with him.

"Yeah sure. Just give me a few minutes." you agreed and he happily cheered, the call ended after that and you hurriedly stood from your bed; Fixing your hair in the mirror, making sure to spray a decent amount of perfume and tiptoeing out of your house, trudging the road for a seven to ten minutes stroll to the beach.

When you arrived, Jake was already there, fixing a blanket that you assumed he brought so the two of you can sit comfortably instead of getting sand on your buttocks.

"Hello, kind sir." you greeted him like a princess, bowing to him gracefully.

"Hello to you too, mademoiselle." he takes your hand as he mimics the bow that you did.

"You speak french now?" you razzed, resting on the blanket first and tapping the space beside you.

"I was trying to go along with whatever skit you're doing." he says, his tone sprinkled with some attitude but nonetheless still sat beside you.

The atmosphere was tranquil as you both stared at the clear night skies, letting the evening wind blow through your faces, bringing a sense of solace that you really missed.

Until your mouth itches and you break the congenial quietude, bringing up the topic that has been bothering you.

"Say Jake," you started, staring right ahead and disregarding his sparkling eyes that he directed at you when he heard your voice, "you told me that you're going back to Australia for college. It really was a surprise that you're still here. What happened?"

He averted his gaze when you went and returned his stare, "Nothing. Just.. something came up, so my parents told me to stay here instead."

You frowned, your guts telling you that he wasn't telling you the entire truth, but you ultimately decided to let it go for now. You don't want to make him uncomfortable by pushing him to open up to you, knowing that it's been a while since you two had hung out.

Heck, you think- no, you believe that he's closer to your brother now.

You let out a sigh, giving him a covert smile and patting his back, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Nah, it's fine." his mood shifted into a lighter one, seizing your hand on his shoulder and clasping it into his, "Aside from that, I'm glad that I didn't leave, because if I did," he squeezes your hand, his warmth seeping through your bones, "I wouldn't be able to see you again."

For the nth time that night, for whatever mysterious reason, you went and reciprocated his actions, squeezing his hand tighter, sitting next to him closer, and smiling blithely at him, "Welps, I'm here now." you whisper, and you swear you saw something twinkle in his irises.

"You are." he smiles back, releasing your hand and slinging an arm over your shoulders, "That is why we need to make the most of it, okay?"

You hummed, leaning on his side and snuggling under his hold.

You’ll later say that you missed him, that’s it. You missed your friend, the person who stuck by your side despite your annoying and messy ass.

There's nothing wrong with spending time with a person that you had regarded as your human diary, the person that you once held feelings for. That was all in the past, for now, you'll catapult your qualms away and enjoy the moment.

When it was getting colder, Jake offered to walk you home, laughing like some elementary schoolers while trudging to your house, talking about the dumbest shit you had done during your juvenile years.

It was nice, it was always nice being with him. A sense of warmth within you knowing that you're safe when you're with him.

The reminiscing went to a halt when you stood by your humble abode's gates, "Welps, I'll see you again soon." you stood awkwardly, like you wanted to say more, to do more, but you don't know what words or actions there are to say or do. 

Finally, Jake took the initiative and stepped towards you, enveloping you in his arms and wishing you a good night before parting your own ways. 

As you lay down on your mattress, drowsiness lulling you to sleep, you couldn't help but think about the light pressure on the crown of your head when Jake hugged you.

You chose to remain ignorant, along with the thunderous thumping of your heart in your chest.

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

"Oh my god! He's a hottie!" Sunoo exclaimed, gaping at the picture on your phone.

"Let me see!" Jungwon dropped the other side of the shirt that he's been vying for with Riki, making the younger stumble on the floor, the other dashing on Sunoo's spot on the couch.

Your brother groaned, rubbing his stinging buttocks that made contact with the cold wooden tiles, "That fucking hurt."

"Language, Riki." your scolding fell on deaf ears as he continued muttering curses under his breath, directing such vile words to his friends.

You, Riki, and his childhood friends’, Jungwon and Sunoo, are currently in the living room, busting out the souvenirs that you bought for them when the topic of your boyfriend was brought up. (courtesy by the pocketz.)

They were whining to you, begging you to show them a photo, to which you shyly presented your phone up, your lover's social media account opened and ready for them to rubberneck at. It was safe to say that they were awed by his visuals, except for your bratty younger brother.

"I'm much more handsome than him," he comments, draping his body all over the boy who's holding the gadget and looking at the image as well, "bet I'm taller than him too."

"Shut up. Is height your only way of hyping yourself?" Sunoo rolled his eyes, shoving Riki off of him and letting Jungwon grab the phone and have his turn of stalking your boyfriend's instagram account.

"Wow, Y/N, your man looks like he came out straight from a manhwa." Jungwon stated, "And no, sorry Riki, I love you but there is no way you're more handsome than this guy."

"Whatever." Riki gave it up, choosing to hide the shirt that he's keeping tabs on from the corner of the box that made Sunoo shriek, yelling that he already called dibs on the piece of fabric.

Jungwon returned your phone back to you, going over to his friends and joining the chaos.

You chewed on your lower lip, staring at your boyfriend's picture. He does look ethereal. Standing in a field, looking sideways to subtly flex his side profile, and to top it off, the mixture of bright orange-blue hues of the skies highlight his sharp, charming visuals even further.

Your dopey smile was difficult to fight off, suddenly missing him and wishing for him to appear out of nowhere so you could hug and kiss him.

"What's the commotion all about?"

A wild Jake appears, infiltrating your home with a grin and scanning the area before sauntering to the venue of the ruckus You quickly close your phone, tossing it on the table and giving the aussie a side hug when he flumps on the unoccupied space beside you.

"These boys are bickering over the clothes that I bought." you explained, answering his question as he scrutinized the three idiots who kept on fighting over a hoodie, ignoring his existence in the room. "Apparently, they love these kinds of styles."

"I bet they do. Look at them going crazy over a pink hoodie." Jake derides, kicking Jungwon on the butt and chastising them for not even sparing him a glance when he popped up in the room.

"Sorry, didn't see you there hyung." Jungwon nonchalantly says, the other two temporarily paused and muttered an uninterested 'hello' before going back to their serious business of sorting outfits.

"Wow, really these guys." Jake sighs in displeasure, a grimace on his face as he watches the youngsters, "How long have they been at it?"

"About.." you trailed off, peeking at the time, "two hours now. It's getting kinda boring."

Jake pondered for a while, after a minute or two he turned to you and fished out his car keys, dangling it in front of you with a smirk on his face and hazel orbs full of mischief, "Whaddya think of a ride around town?"

You blinked at his spontaneous behavior, shrugging and pretending to think about the suggestion even if you already had an answer, "Sure. I mean, there's nothing much to do here."

Jake cheered and made a dash towards his car, mumbling something about revving it up and you have to come quick. You shook your head endearingly at his excited demeanor, truly like a puppy.

You went to follow him but not before telling the boys who are, until now, arguing over the mundane things about your souvenirs, "Y'all, I'm going out for a while. Look out for the house while I'm gone, and don't destroy anything while mom and dad are not here too."

You stood there for a while, observing their squabble, then you chose to drop the formalities since they're too centered in their own world to even give you the time of their day.

"No, I'm telling you, this is my size!"

"You're too puny for this, c'mon man, be serious."

"I ain't the size of your dick."

"Wha-! Say that again you fuckhead!"

Truly a pandemonium, you purse your lips and rubbed your forehead, shooting your parents a text about your whereabouts and leaving the house altogether because some children just won't listen.

Something scintillated within you when you saw Jake patiently waiting outside, leaning on his car and playing with his phone.

You took your time to extensively admire him, finally seeing him in a holistic perspective.

Him, standing there with his leather jacket, clad in an all black outfit down to his shoes. His charcoal tresses flowing the same way as the wind and oh, how he glows under the glittering rays of the afternoon sunlight is blinding you.

He's flawless.

"Yoi!" you snapped out of it when he called for you, opening the passenger door and motioning for you to get on. 

You hurriedly went in, suspiciously not making eye contact, making you miss the knowing look he sent you. Now, you tried to relax, sitting on the leather seat but my god... his scent is so strong inside, it invades all of your senses, making your hands clammy.

Jake went and sat in the driver's seat, laughing when he saw you struggle to put on the seatbelt. He bent over to your side to help you out, brushing against your hand in the process.

"Your hands are sweaty." he remarked, then raised an eyebrow, "Are you.." he peeked at you from under his long hair, batting his lashes at you, "Nervous?"

Well that did the trick. You were caught red-handed and you’re not quite sure on what to or not to do, stumbling over your words to try and explain yourself.

"Hey, hey, calm down."

You took a deep breath. He's close, too close as he's still hunched over to you. Faces mere centimeters from each other but you need to be brave, gazing into his mellow eyes and feeling yourself settle when his hands enveloped yours, "It's just me, okay?"

"Right." you giggled nervously, "But no, I wasn't nervous. I was only out of it. You know, 'cuz I'm tired." you tried to play it cool like you weren't losing your mind just a few seconds ago.

He, at long last, moved away from you, letting go of your hand and starting to drive away.

"Really now?" he asked, a sly smirk on his lips but it was wiped off and was replaced with a pout when you, shockingly, flipped him off. (he did not expect you to do that, earning you a whiny "Since when have you been so violent?" from him.)

In your defense, flipping someone off is not a sign of violence, but rather an off-handed way of showing affection.

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

The trip went smoothly, you weren't anxious like a shivering chihuahua anymore, allowing you to appreciate the beauty of your hometown.

There were a lot of recently developed things.

New buildings, new attractions, and you even saw a glimpse of the upcoming jubilee; the stalls and decorations are a total giveaway.

"Woah, I was gone for a bit and changes like these happened already." you remarked, surprised at the amount of transformation in your settlement.

"Like they say, change is inevitable." he replies and you couldn't agree more. "By the way, can we go somewhere as our last destination?"

The sun was starting to set, the time for you to go home was getting close because your parents made you promise to join them for supper. But it's okay, one more location with Jake won't hurt.

So you agreed, letting him drive while you close your lids, enjoying the salty breeze from the ocean and letting the current of air brush your hair and skin, relishing in the serenity that you barely experience in the city.

After a few minutes, the vehicle went to a halt, hearing Jake murmur a small 'We're here.' made you open your eyes, and you were greeted by the familiar view.

"Oh my god, Jake!" you grinned, running towards the small, dinky wooden house that stood in the middle of the wild grasses and flowers. A rush of happiness flowing in your veins at seeing your 'secret base.'

You gasped when you entered, Jake following closely behind, you couldn't believe what you were seeing.

"Yeah," he bashfully puts his hands inside the pockets of his ripped jeans, biting his lips whilst he inspects your expression, "I took care of our secret base all this time. Corny, I know, but I really wanted to keep this in good condition."

He rambles and you listen, walking around the expanse of the room and true to his words, the four corners of the house are basically spotless. Despite the rust forming around the edges of the metals and a portion of the wood being eaten by some kind of insect, everything is still the same.

"Are you kidding me Jake?" you spun on your heels and ran to him, pulling him into a bear hug and burying your face in his chest, "This is like, the best thing that ever happened to me ever since I came back here!" you exclaimed, staring up at him gleefully.

He lets out a relieved sigh, returning your amity with the same fervor, "I'm glad, I thought I was way overboard with this."

"Pft. No way!" cue you trying to do his Australian accent, breaking the hug and proceeding to jovially push him away, "But genuine question here, why did you go all the way and take the job of being the caretaker for this supposedly tree house." you jokingly quoted the word 'tree house' with your fingers, making Jake hoot in laughter at the hidden agenda of your sentence.

"We really did our best to make this a tree house, unfortunately, we were too dumb to figure out how to build a damn house. Good thing your father is a good carpenter." he chuckles, recalling the memory of how and why the miniature flat was built.

"No, but really, the thing was.. I, ah fuck-" he runs a hand through his silky strands of inky locks, his ears turning red and your heartstrings were pulled by his adorable mien.

What your younger brother told you suddenly echoed in your brain, "Jake's a fuckboy now."

Yeah, he might be, considering the amount of girls that kept on clinging to him while he toured you around the metropolis. You saw a glimpse of it, his flirty persona, but right now, you firmly believe that he's still the same Jake that you knew.

Jake Sim, the guy who befriended you when no one else was willing to because apparently, you were a freak during your girlhood. The same guy who always protected you, stopped you from making poor life decisions that you'd probably regret sooner or later.

The same guy who took you to prom during your senior year, the one who gaped like a fish when he saw you all dressed up, a large grin on his face while he complimented you throughout the night nonstop. The one who never left your side and danced with you during the said event, not glancing at any other women's direction and focusing on you and only you until he couldn't take it anymore and kissed you on your front door.

Jake Sim, your first friend, first kiss, and inescapably, first love.

"Tell me." you urged him, cupping his face and staring right through his worries, "You can always be honest with me."

Jake visibly gulped, his hands moving on its own and engulfing yours that are planted on his cheeks.

"I wanted to preserve the memories." he admits, his eyes softening at your astonishment, "This was the place where we started our family, with our daughter Layla."

You snickered, "Layla.. how is our daughter doing?" you asked, suddenly curious about the adorable dog's whereabouts.

"So now you remember her?" Jake rolled his eyes, but still answered you nonetheless, "She's doing fine actually, she missed you a lot."

"She did?"

"Yeah, she missed you." the volume of his voice dropped, almost purring, raspy and feathery, tickling your insides, "Even her father missed you, if we're going to be blunt here."

"And who is the father?" you inquired, not noticing that Jake guided your hands towards his shoulders, his own palms gliding down your hips and gradually tugging you close to his body.

"Me, I'm the father."

You were too engrossed at the melodrama-like scene that you're starring in, not having the ability to discern that your faces are inching towards each other every ticking second.

*ring ring*

Like a wake up call, thanks to your phone, the two of you jolted and immediately separated, breathing heavily and thinking 'What the hell just happened?'

You answered your phone, your mom is getting dramatic because it's late and she's hungry, telling you to go back home right at this instant.

"Let's go, I'll drive you back." Jake's voice was distant, seeing that he's already outside, waiting for you to exit the house.

The journey back to your residence was a complete 180 of the atmosphere from when you both left. It was taciturn and morose, so much that it made you want to walk back home instead.

When he parked right outside your gates and you were about to offer him goodnight and farewell, he promptly gripped your wrist, preventing you from escaping the auto, "I'm sorry, back there, I.. I didn't know what came over me."

"No, no, it's fine. It was an accident." you say, but then you heard him mutter something, but you couldn't quite hear it. So you asked him to repeat himself.

"I said," he took a deep breath, "I want our friendship to be just like before. If that's okay with you."

You smiled, flicking his forehead as a way of telling him that everything is okay, "I would love that, you doofus."

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

Jake watches you enter your home before going off on his own apartment but not before stopping in an vacant road and banging his head repeatedly on the steering wheel.

That was so shitty and uncool of him.

Almost kissing his friend— his friend that has a boyfriend.

He sighs, shutting his eyes and repeating a mantra in his brain, 'Don't do that ever again.'

He barely managed to save the night, a poor attempt at that, thankfully, you're nice enough to let things pass and accept his proposition of rekindling what's supposed to stay in the past.

This is fine. It's foolish of him to think that he's something more to you. So he'll accept the fact that you'll always see him as your friend.

Even if he wants to love you, even if loving you is a complete necessity for him. He'll bury all of those, hidden in his box of filtered feelings and emotions, because once he lets go of his restraints, he'll lose you.

Dear lord no, the mere thought of losing you makes his stomach churn in a not so nice way, evoking the bile to rise in his throat.

Again, he convinces himself that he doesn't need anything else but to have you in his life.

"Jake, keep your shit together." he opens a compartment, looking intently at a bracelet made out of shells tucked safely in a clear glass box.

Wanting you was, is, and will always be more than enough. 

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

Undeniably, your parents nagged you for being late to the family dinner, but you paid no mind to them, opting to eat your food at the speed of light and locking yourself in the privacy of your room, throwing your body on the comforts of your bed.

Once inside, you felt like you could breathe again, all the substandard smoke inhaled from earlier finally out of your lungs. You were dizzy from everything that happened today, and you want nothing more but to combust at the mixed emotions that are brewing up.

You almost kissed Jake, for fucks sake. The thing was, you liked the way he looked at you, the way he held you, the way h-

You gasped when your phone rang, guilt running through your whole system when the screen lit up with the words: 'Hoonie 🐧'

You took a deep breath, collecting yourself for a moment before grabbing your device and answering the video call with a giddy smile and shaky hands.

"There she is, my baby, the love of my life, my wife, m-"

"Hoonie!" you whined, cutting the voice off which made the person on the other line chuckle, his loving eyes glimmer when he saw you blush.

"What? Am I not allowed to shower my baby with love?"

You giggled, lying properly down the bed and lifting your arms up so your phone would be directly facing you, letting you admire the man that you proudly call yours.

"Of course you can. How's your practice over there?" you asked, wanting to know his life’s events.

"It's fun actually, I was really nervous at first but guess what, the coaches here in Canada are so nice and they taught me new techniques so I can improve further! And, the pancakes here are so fucking delicious." he's basically rapping, you think, but you still find yourself getting drowned by his voice, the way he excitedly tells you everything about his training camp in another country is endearing. Although, you frowned when he suddenly chips his rants off, a sad sigh escaping his lips.

"Why, what's wrong?" worry graced your expression, making him coo at how adorable you are.

"Nothing. I just wish you were here with me right now."

You watched him sit up from his own bed, leaning onto the wooden headboard and intently studying you, "I wish I could come home to you after practice, then we could cuddle and kiss.. and maybe eat some pancakes too."

You laughed at his unseriousness, really, he could say the most romantic words out there yet he'd still sprinkle it with his weird uncle humor. Well, that's one of the many reasons why you love him.

"You're crazy about those pancakes aren't you?" you watched him nod his head, his eyes crinkling as he probably feels pride swelling within him for making you laugh.

"I'm crazier about you though." he winked, a boyish grin on his lips and you couldn't help but kick your feet like a kindergarten student with a crush.

"Gosh! Now you're just making me miss you more!" you grumbled, lying sideways and hiding your maroon colored face in your pillows.

His melodic chuckles resound in your ears, and you peek at him when he softly, sweetly tells you that he misses you too, tons and lots.

"No but really, aside from dying on how much I want to hold you," you chuckle at his dramatic sentence, "one of the agendas here is because a little birdie told me that you don't want to go to your town fiesta."

You groaned, "I'm gonna tell mom that you called her a little birdie."

"Hey missy, no tattling allowed here." he clicked his tongue before continuing, "But no, it was Riki who told me. And, I think you should go because I heard that it's a special celebration in your town that only happens once a year. Besides, you can't let Riki run around there alone, what if he accidentally stabs himself with a spoon?"

This time, you groaned and whined, explaining to him the many reasons why you don't wanna go. It's hot, there's too many people, and Riki is old enough to handle himself. Really, like a child throwing a fit which made your boyfriend massage his temples, and as you were on your number five reason why you didn't wanna go, you halt when his voice dropped an octave on the other line.

"What if I give my princess a little something tonight if she decides to go?" he says, and something about his tone sends shivers down your spine, especially the way he called you 'princess.'

A pet name that he uses only for certain circumstances.

"What?" you asked dumbfounded, knowing the purpose behind his words but your brain is not fully processing the situation.

"You see, I can feel it when my princess is kind of frustrated.." something in his eyes darkened as he looked at you through the screen, one that shoots arrows down to your core, "because I am too, honestly haven't touched myself for days because it's never sufficient when it's not you."

You almost choked when he let out a deep moan, and you could see the muscles in his biceps moving and bulging. The sound of his sheets rustling is very much an obvious sign that he's starting to play with himself.

"Hoon- I.." you trailed off, rubbing your legs together to generate some relief, every second you hear a guttural groan from him the wetter you become.

Oh fuck, you two were just being lovey-dovey a while ago and now it's getting real nasty... and you're loving every single second of it.

"Yes princess?" he says huskily, looking at you with hooded eyes, waiting for you to speak up.

"Help me, please." you pathetically whimpered, snaking a hand down and inside your shorts and underwear, instantly feeling the sticky juices of your pussy.

"Sadly princess, I can only do that when you say yes to the proposal, yeah?" he replied, tone webbed with feigned sympathy as he smickered at your helplessness.

Your eyes slammed shut, legs twitching and your core in desperate need of release, "Fine!" you concede, taking a deep breath when you heard your boyfriend's triumphant chuckle over the line, "Can you please just-"

"Now, now," the man uttered, biting his lower lip to keep himself from tittering at your desperate demeanor, "listen to me well and do everything as I say, okay?"

You nodded your head as an affirmation, impatiently gathering your wetness that was pooling in your heat, lathering them all over your labia.

"That's my good princess, now can you touch your clit for me?" he instructs, his heavy breathing echoing in your brain as you do what he said. A light moan escaping your lips when your finger nudges your bundle of nerves.

"Circle them around, honey, write my name on that pussy." your lover on the other line shudders at the thought of spelling his name on your glistening part, he'll definitely do it himself the next time he sees you.

"Ah! H-hoonie, need more." you cried out, keeping your voice at minimum so the other occupants of the house won't hear what's going on inside your room. "Please, I need more." you continued whining, writing every syllable of his name on your clit, an unspoken proof of him owning you.

At this point, you're having a hard time maintaining the grip on your phone, forcing yourself to look into the camera, resigned pupils begging for your boyfriend to do something. And when he did say to plunge two fingers in, you immediately obeyed, curling it into your g-spot, imagining it was his deft digits that are pleasuring you, it had you writhing around your sheets, but it's not sufficient. Not adequate to send you to the edge. 

You fucking need him. You need Park Sunghoon himself.

"I-I can't Sunghoon, this is not enough I-"

"No baby, you can and you will." he rasped, and you can barely hear him stroking himself rather harshly, surely he's also imagining your soft, small hands on his cock as he works himself into his orgasm. "Let go princess, cum all over your fingers and I'll make sure that a grand prize awaits you."

You gasped, reaching euphoria with his encouragement, along with his insanely attractive groans while releasing his load into his hand. You moaned his name wantonly until you're panting and the only thing that you could think of is him, and the said award that you'll get when you see him after the summer break. 

Your phone slipped from your grasp, exhaustion seeping in and you don't wanna move anymore. You'll clean yourself up tomorrow, opting to listen to the praises that your boyfriend is giving you, finally sleeping with a satisfied smile when you hear the words that will forever make the zoo in your stomach crazy.

"I love you, my Y/N."

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

Giving in to your boyfriend made you lament, and as much as you want to hate him for compelling you agree to this stupid festival, you couldn't bring yourself to do it because apparently, your bouncy brat of a brother who entered your bedroom in the wee hours of the morning (10 am) and his joyful celebration of you coming to the stupid event was enough to make you think that yeah, accepting that proffer may be worth it.

Still, you weren't prepared for it. You only packed the essential clothes necessary for the entire summer break. And it did not include any extravagant, shiny dresses or outfits that are suitable for parties.

Thus, that is how you found yourself walking down the cemented pavement to go to the nearest clothing store after having your not so peaceful brunch. With your brother and his friends going off about how amazing the night party at the beach for the festival would be, you couldn't help but listen to them yap.

You yelped when a car stopped beside you, and you were so ready to dash off or scream if some masked man tried to kidnap you. The familiar black tint of the vehicle made you stop and rethink the overreaction that you're about to pull, then the window of the driver's seat rolled down, revealing none other than Jake himself.

"A pretty lady walking under the sun without an umbrella at like," he paused to look at the imaginary watch on his wrist, "one pm, that's uncanny."

You scoffed, crossing your arms, "The only uncanny thing here is that," you pointed at his face, squinting playfully "wearing sunglasses inside a car, what kind of idiot does that?"

"Hey! This is for fashion!" he yelled, offended at your snide remark, completely forgetting the character he's in. "Anyways, get in. Where are you even going?"

He gets out of his car, opening the passenger seat for you and signaling for you to enter. He stands there patiently, waiting for you to move even though he was clearly upset at your joke, evident by the pout on his lips. You couldn't help but smile, flowers blooming in your chest with how sweet he is.

You amicably walked in his direction, pinching in his cheeks, "You're spectacular in those sunglasses. Now let's go to some clothing store because I have to prepare shit."

While getting yourself comfortable inside his car, you saw him fight back a smile at your compliment, his pronounced cheekbones failing to hide his grin at the last moment.

The drive resumed without a hitch with you explaining the reason for your impromptu trip, and being extra, he just had to go to the mall because, and you quote, "The mall has more options, don't be such a grinch about it." end of quote.

Now, you're having regrets part two of today's adventure because how on earth are you supposed to act when two elderly couples have mistaken Jake as your boyfriend? And he was so casual about it! He could at least act a little flustered because you were always caught off guard!

What does that make you?!

"You don't have to be so shy about it." he pokes fun at you, dragging you around the mall after telling you that he knows a good store that sells really pretty clothes.

"I am by no means shy. I was just surprised that's all, and h-"

"Here we are!" he exclaims, cutting your sentence short when he pushes you inside the shop.

The bell rang, indicating your arrival and you could hear a faint 'Welcome' from the back, probably the only employee for the day, considering the small space of the clothing store.

The ambience inside is nice, the interior was giving Parisian vibes, but you couldn't admire the place for long when Jake shoved a bunch of clothes in your face.

"Here, try some of this on and let me see." he says with an eager smile, you just have to bring out the full potential of your neocortex and thalamus and you'll be able to see his wagging tail.

"You mean I have to model you these?" you raised an eyebrow, entering a dressing room and burrowing through the clothes, picking only the ones that caught your eye, shaking your head when you heard Jake shout about him being the fashion king of your town. 

The first outfit was a simple plaid red skirt and black long sleeve top, to which Jake said that it looks like you're going to a painting class.. it was a no.

Second outfit was a drag, he says, black sleeveless overall that you paired with a white crop top. Certainly, you'll have to remove the entire fabric if you want to pee, which is a good point.

You are now slightly fuming, wanting this shit to end, not until you saw an appealing, off shoulder white dress with golden linings on it. The subtle floral pattern embedded adds to its beauty and you think, yeah, maybe this is the one.

You threw it on without much thought, exiting the fitting room and showing it to your friend who was checking the prices of some of the clothes, "What do you think?"

Jake turned around from where he was standing, and it seems that time has been possessed by a turtle. His eyes widened, raking in your appearance and etching  it into his brain, never to consign into oblivion.

Now, Jake is a devoted Christian. He goes to church to pray, thanking God for all of the blessings he has received in his life. He heard the pastor describe heaven and angels, and as a child, he thought that he'll only see that in the afterlife. Never would he expect that he'll experience nirvana and see a spiritual being whilst alive, all in the shape of you.

He was so mesmerized by you that he didn't even realize you were talking, repeating your question from before. Then his small sphere broke when an unfamiliar voice spoke.

"I think you look great in it, ma'am."

"Oh! Uh-I, thank you..?" you trailed off, looking at the boy's name tag, "Yeonjun?"

"Yeps! That's me!" the black haired man chirps, "Well then, are you getting that? Which I think you should because it really suits you."

You put a hand over your chest, thanking the employee before excusing yourself so that you can return in your previous clothes and pay for the dress.

Meanwhile, Jake was stupefied. He didn't get a word in and he was about to shower you with compliments! He scowled at the tall boy standing in the corner, and when he felt the menacing glare of the aussie, he raised his hands up in surrender.

"I'm sorry man, had to speak to her because you were acting like a statue earlier." Yeonjun explains, but the smirk on his face didn't sit well with Jake.

"Where do I pay?" you appeared out of nowhere, the dress hanging on your arms, effectively breaking the tension between the two men.

"Right this way, ma'am." Yeonjun gladly guides you to the cashier area, giving you a flattering grin while he punches the price of the outfit. Before he could say another word, you felt a strong arm wrap around your waist, pulling you flush towards a sturdy body and a black card being dropped in front of the worker.

"I'll pay for it, no buts." Jake's authoritative behavior took you by surprise, thinking real hard on what made him act like this.

You discreetly looked at him, and my god were you blown away by how.. hot he looks when mad?

Wait a minute.. is he?

You heave when you're suddenly hauled out of the store, too busy in your own daydream to actually notice that he's done paying, gruffly grabbing the paper bag from the counter and storming out like an emotional old lady in a telenovela.

"Hold up, Jake!" you forcefully remove your hand on his own, sizing up his weird attitude before asking him what's up, and why the fuck is he upset out of the blue.

He faced the other direction, tuning in on him as he murmured under his breath, and you think you heard some curses like 'motherfucker' and 'cunt' and you had to compose yourself, or else you'll have no choice but to slap him silly for acting so tiresome in the middle of a jam-packed mall.

You sighed, putting your hands on your hips, a stance that mothers use when they're drained of their child's tantrum, "My fucking god, Jake, if you don't tell me what's wrong I'll leave you right here at this instant."

"That cashier sucks!" he bellowed, turning on his feet to face you with a frown, "He thinks he's a hotshot just because he's tall and he's muscular but argh!" he threw his hands up in the air, now sporting a petulant expression whilst crossing his arms over his chest.

"I get it." you giggled, raising an eyebrow at him that had him further frustrated, "You're jealous because he's handsome?"

"Yada yada," he rolls his eyes at your antics, not accepting such despicable reasons, "I'm a walking disney prince, he's no match for me."

"Alright, calm down Jakey." you laugh heartily, finding his baby girl stance absolutely precious, "Get that frown out of your face, you'll get wrinkles!" you went closer to him, brushing your hands all over his face to emphasize your point, not stopping until you saw a glimpse of a smile on his lips. And when you're content, you link arms with him, looking for the nearest ice cream shop, your treat, to cheer him up.

After ordering and settling down in Baskin Robbins, (the only ice cream shop in the mall), you excused yourself for a while. Going to a mini stall that you passed by a while ago to buy a certain necklace.

A silver necklace with the initials 'J' on it. You already made up your mind on purchasing it, a small gift for your friend. Staring at the jewelry now, you know that the adornment will shine on Jake the best.

You smile fondly, silver suits him, you think. Elegant and sophisticated, and the miniscule topaz stone in the letter that represents his name is the selling point for you, truly a necklace made for him.

After thanking the owner of the stall, you returned to the ice cream shop with a pep in your step, but your jolly attitude died down when you saw Jake with a girl at your table. And it appears that he’s enjoying the conversation with the pretty woman. 

'Well, fuck that, I ain't going back there when he's having so much fun without me.'

Your seething aura seemed to reach Jake, shivers running down his spine and his eyes were immediately drawn to the side, orbs widening in alarm when he saw you glowering.

Jake thought that the scariest moment of his life was when he was walking Layla early in the morning, and his dog choked on a piece of bone that was lying around in the neighbourhood, but as of now, he begs to differ.

His fear was audible in all ways, the girl in front of him noticed, making her follow what he was so riveting on and shit, that made you rage even more because it's fucking Kim Chaewon.

The girl who made your childhood a living hell. Your personal bully, the same girl who destroyed the sandcastle you built on the beach at the tender age of 6, the one who took everything away from you, the main cause of your departure in your hometown.

You felt so betrayed, the one person you thought she couldn't snatch from you, right in front of your eyes, was stolen.

You tried not to be affected by the scene, but you couldn't help the tears that pricked into the corner of your eyes when Chaewon smirked at you, and you'll be damned if you let yourself cry in her presence.

You turned on your heels, walking away and ready to commute back home but not before shooting Jake a disappointed look, ignoring his panicked expression.

Jake felt dread, guilt dropping down on his stomach when he saw hurt in your eyes, what's worse is that he's the cause of it.

He stood up right away, ready to follow you and explain the situation. That it wasn't what it looked like. He was about to take off, then he felt a hand grapple his wrist, a coy countenance can be seen on the culprit.

"You're seriously going after her?" Chaewon inquired, a mocking laugh escaped her lips, "What are you even gonna say?"

Jake retrieved his hand in a ruthless manner, sneering at the girl, "That nothing is happening here, she got it all wrong."

"Nothing?" she leered, batting her eyelashes like some bratz doll, "So fucking with me while she's gone and avoiding me when she’s here were nothing?"

"Listen here Chaewon," Jake aggressively leaned in, whispering through gritted teeth with a venom laced tone, "you do not say a word to Y/N, or else." then he left, running in the same direction that you took, making the blonde girl scoff.

Chaewon grimaced at the two cups of unfinished ice cream, setting her elbows on top of the wooden table and stagily resting her chin on her laced fingers, her attention stockpiling at a certain paper bag that's sitting on the left side of the comfy booth.

Scheme and trouble are her capital when it comes to instigations, "Game on, Sim Jaeyun."

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

"Y/N! Wait up, please, let me explain!"

You were well aware of Jake's pleads which made you walk faster, unfortunately, races like this meant that the one who has the longer limbs wins, and that wasn't you.

Jake caught up to you in no time, forcefully pulling you into his arms and enveloping you into a tight embrace, not letting you go even if you fight and hit him, accepting all of the profanities that you throw at him, he deserves that much.

It feels like you're in some k-drama. Getting back hugged by your childhood friend in a place where people are nowhere to be found, the skies turning into shades of gray and black, and frankly, you're getting tired of struggling knowing that you already lost the fight since he's so much stronger than you.

When he felt you go limp in his hold, he slowly turned you around so that he could examine you properly, a miscalculation on his part because seeing you in such a defeated state made him want to bury himself six feet under the ground until he's sure that he's paid the damages he had caused you.

"Y/N, please just one chance," he cupped your face, peering at you with such beseech, "please hear me out."

When you didn't speak, he took that as a chance to elaborate his case.

"I know it's wrong of me to interact with her, but she suddenly sat down in front of me. She caught me off guard and I was about to tell her off."

You let out a scornful laugh, pushing him away from you, "So you're saying that she's about to leave?"

He nodded, hope skirting his features but you wiped it all off with your next sentence, "Then why do you need to be so friendly with her, huh?!"

"I don’t want to make a scene there, Y/N. I have t-"

You raised a hand to stop him from saying more, having heard enough of his bullshit for the day, "Cut the crap, Jake, just- give me some time to think about.. t-this." your voice cracked in the middle and the sound reverberated through Jake's heart.

Watching you turn your back away was the hardest shit that Jake has to endure, especially since you're only a hair's breadth from his grasp.

Jake runs his hands over his face, attempting to rub the moisture away.

He has to fix this- No, he will fucking fix this even if it means that he has to go from heaven to hell.

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You went home with a heavy feeling in your chest, ignoring the questions from your family and skipping dinner, (which is a big deal because your mother cooked your favorite food) since you don't have the appetite to join them for a delicious meal. You're tired, and all you wanted to do was cry yourself to sleep in the comforts of your mattress.

You dropped your body in the cotton sheets after washing up, dressing yourself in a simple tee and shorts.

It was eerily quiet, then the horrid memories that you clobbered in the back of your head started to swim back into the surface, your hands automatically went to your hair, gripping it hard as you choked back a sob.

A stuck gum in your precious, long hair that had caused you to cut it short, which made your classmates call you a tomboy.

Your artwork that was destroyed because this jealous girl just had to spray some black paint on it, causing you to lose a painting competition.

That one time when you had a crush on this guy named Soobin, but then he rejected you when you confessed because a certain someone made rumors about you wanting to have sex with him wherein reality, you only wanted to have a date with him.

Being called to the principal's office because you were accused of cheating during finals, which you never did but for some reason, 'evidence' of your wrongdoings appeared, and you lost the chance to become the class valedictorian.

The root of all these shitty things that you experienced: Kim Chaewon.

All the pent up humiliation and anger were released. The thought of Jake, the person who was supposed to be your shield from the disarray being involved with the person that you disliked, no, hate the most is killing you inside and out.

You sniffed, shutting your eyes and letting the tears flow freely as you clutched your pillow close to your chest. How you wished for your boyfriend to save you from this dark hole that swallowed you once more.

"Sunghoon, I need you here please."

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

You were rudely awakened by the repeated taps on the glass, a suspicious silhouette moving around the see-through curtain. You observed the shadow for a while until you decided to take action. 

You sit up, quietly grabbing a lamp on the bedside table and cautiously tiptoeing towards the window, you slightly jumped when the intruder knocked again.

You took a deep breath, raising the lamp on your left hand and slowly pulling the curtains to the side. You yelped when you were met with Jake's face pressed onto the glass of the window, clad in an all black outfit and you had to physically stop yourself from laughing with how hysterical he looks.

"Jake?! What the fuck?!" you whisper-yelled, putting the lamp down on your dresser and quickly unlocking the window, ushering him to get in before someone sees him and calls the police.

"What are you doing here?! And in the middle of the night? Do you have any idea that people might see and talk about this?!"

"I have ice cream. You didn't get to eat yours today." he shoves a plastic bag in your face, not minding your words as he huffs and puffs, probably out of breath since he had to climb the tree behind your house and go over the roof so he could slink into your bedroom. 

Yes, because life is not that easy and clichéd that a tree would be conveniently placed right in front of your window on the second floor of your home. Jake has to work for it.

"I don't want it." you uttered, trudging towards your door and opening it, beckoning your head downstairs, "Please leave, I'll be nice enough to escort you out."

You weren't looking at him, you don't have it in you to take him in because you're weak. You're not strong enough to stay mad at him, you know that one gaze into his starry eyes and you're gone, and you couldn't afford to do that.

Still, you should've checked at least once because hearing the plastic being dropped on some furniture and his incoming footsteps made you assume that he's done, that he's leaving, which was not the case.

A surprised gasp left you when Jake's hand grasped yours that was holding the knob, closing the door with a slight thud and he easily towers over you. An uncharacteristic intensity in his usually warm sepia orbs made your knees buckle, your heart rate speeding up when you realized that his masculine body had you trapped. Most importantly, his musky perfume makes you dizzy, clouding your ability to make sound judgment.

"I came here to see you, so no, I'll politely decline the offer of me leaving so soon." he murmurs, his hot breath cascading down your cheeks, and you got even more flustered when his free hand gripped your chin, leniently guiding your vision towards him.

"Please, Y/N, baby. Will you listen to what happened earlier?" he rasps, earnestly peeking into your own eyes as he searches for an answer that he desperately needed.

You'll condemn his perfume, his minty breath, his insanely attractive voice, and the sudden romantic ambience of the room. You'll inculpate anything at this point except your fragile self, because is it supposed to be your fault if Jake has the ability to render you defenseless against his overwhelming power over you?

A shaky sigh escapes you, nodding your head absentmindedly. The pet name surely had an effect on you, to which you could only describe as a grand circus playing around your whole nervous system.

"Jake.."

"There is nothing going on between me and that bitch, okay? I only care about you," he pulls your interconnected hands from the knob, bringing it to his lips and gently pecks your knuckles, "I'll drop anything just to be by your side, you know that right?"

"Please baby, I'm so sorry. I will never get in touch with her ever again. I'm so fucking sorry, I don't- I hate it when you cry, I hate it when you're sad. Please let me make it up to you. Please let me show you how much you mean to me."

You're not an impulsive person, as you'd like to believe, you tend to think first before doing something that you might regret in the future, but as of now, none of that matters.

For once in your life, you took the initiative, connecting your lips with Jake's, pouring all of your feelings in one emotional kiss. He wasted no time in returning it, turning his face sideways to deepen the liplock.

So this is what it felt like to kiss your plush, glossy lips. This is what it felt like to hold you in a way that is more than just some fucking friends.

This is what it feels like to have you. Intoxicating, addicting, and astronomically out of his wildest dreams.

Jake was brought back to reality when he felt you suck on his lower lip, opening his eyes in a haste and pulling away from you.

"I don't think we should d-" he starts, but you hush him by placing your index finger above his lips.

This is.. wrong. You are in a relationship, right? You two shouldn't be doing this.

"Jake," you whisper his name with such mirth, "show me how much I mean to you.. please."

That was the last thing Jake needed, throwing out whatever rationality remained in his brain in exchange for the yearning that he desired for so many years.

He groaned when you willingly opened your mouth for him, allowing him to slip his tongue in, licking every corner of your cavern. You let his wet appendage graze your teeth before moving your own to clash with his. Both are battling for dominance in this erratic exchange of saliva which he inarguably won, and you couldn't keep your moans at bay when he sucked on your tongue.

Pressing his lips into yours once more, a heated make-out ensues with him leading the way, wrapping his arms around your waist and compressing you between his body and the door, wanting to lessen the distance. He wanted more, he needed more, and he sure as hell will make the most out of this.

He'll act as a clueless villain if it means that he'll be able to steal the most precious gemstone that's already owned by someone.

But who fucking cares?

How could one say that it's wrong when everything feels so right? No one is qualified to dictate shit when the pieces of the decimated past are starting to recoup themselves, turning into a masterpiece called a forbidden tryst.

"Keep it down baby, don't want your parents to barge in here don't we?" he muttered against your lips, head moving to your clavicle and you instinctively craned your neck to the side, giving him the permission to paint you with the most colorful hues of blue and purple.

Jake breathes through his nose, inhaling your rousing vanilla and strawberry fragrance. This is what he's ever dreamed of. You, in his arms, marking you as his and only his.

One rainy day, he woke up only to realize that he wanted to be the man to make you happy. He wanted to cook meals with you, travel around the world, take candid photos of you and set it as his wallpaper. He wanted to be the person that you'll meet at the end of the church aisle.

The recollection of when it started was totally blurry.

Was it when you cried over that dimpled man back during 8th grade? Or was it when he saw you in your ball gown for prom? He has no idea, but he does know that he's prepared to give and let go of everything just for you.

Jake clutches on your waist even tighter, nuzzling his nose in the nook of your neck and leaving lightweight kisses up to your mastoid. He smiled when he heard you giggle, biting your ear lobe teasingly, "Still ticklish I see."

You poked his side in retaliation, making him jump and shriek a bit, "So are you."

"Why you little-!" Jake carried you like a sack of potatoes, dropping you on the cushions haphazardly yet you felt his palm on the back of your head, acting as an insulation so the impact won't hurt you.

"You'll be sorry for that." he says with a smirk, wedging himself in between your legs, and before you could reply, he kissed you deeply, proceeding to attack your neck with pecks and bites, sucking in the spot that had you gripping his hair.

His hand started to explore your body, tracing your shape and going inside your shirt, stopping right under your boobs. Jake lifted himself off, his eyes speaking for himself, silently asking for consent if it's alright to remove your clothes.

You nodded and started peeling off the shirt, the fabric getting comically stuck on your forehead (that's what you get for wearing clothes from your junior high days). You both laughed at the witless situation, and despite all that, you felt him help you out of the predicament but not without leaving a kiss on the exposed lower half of your face.

When the shirt is finally out of the way, you hastily remove your shorts as well, leaving you in nothing but a pair of panties because yes, you did not put on a bra, finding it ridiculous to wear one inside your own house.

You suddenly felt conscious when you noticed that Jake was unmoving and you found yourself covering your upper body, a movement that made the boy snap out of his daze.

"No, baby don't cover up," he grins sweetly at you, gulping down his nerves, "sorry, you're gorgeous, I can't help but admire."

You bit your lower lip, glancing at him and tugging at his own clothes, "Then be fair, give me something to admire too." you shyly said, avoiding eye contact when you saw him grin.

Jake instantly shrugged every piece of his attire, baring his all to you, and your eyes almost popped out of their sockets because what the hell?

Of course you knew he was well built, his fitted outfits leave nothing to the imagination at times, but fuck you to the moon and back, you did not expect him to be this muscular. He has abs! For goodness sake, you weren't prepared, and it shows since Jake has to boop you in the nose to get you out of your daydream.

"I know the view is amazing," he gently laid you down, positioning himself on top of you, "but tonight is all about you, darling."

He pulled you in for another solid minute of make-out session, this time though, he touches you with more vehemence. Snaking his hand on your chest, gripping your left boob and lowering his head down to give the other the rightful attention it deserves.

You moaned his name when he suckled on your nipple, tongue circling around the areola and occasionally biting to add more to the sensation. He used his fingers to twitch and pull on the other nipple, his other hand trailing over your stomach, down to the navel until it reached your heat. He experimentally dipped a finger, gathering your juices and groaning at how wet you are for him.

"Baby, you're dripping and I've only done the bare minimum." he mutters, releasing your nipple with a pop and staring down at you with desire written all over his features, "You really want me that bad?"

"Yes Jake," you answered without any hint of doubt, "I want you, please, do something." you begged, and who was he to say no to his beautiful baby.

"Your wish is my command, princess." he grinned, going into full action as he slid down, coming face to face with your core.

Princess.

There was only one person who called you that. It should hit you by now that this is taboo... but it's just one night.

After this, you'll move on and act like nothing happened. Isn't it?

You weren't able to delve deeper into your thoughts when you felt a finger inside your pussy, a warm mouth lapping at your wetness and sucking on your clit harshly. Your back arches when another digit goes inside you, going at a moderate yet wonderful pace every time it curls and hits a spot that has you curling your toes.

"Right there!" you moaned, getting closer to your orgasm, Jake sensing this made adjustments to his ministrations, basically going into feral mode. His deft fingers pumped in and out of you vigorously, his sucking, add to that the small nips in your bundle of nerves are getting too much for you to handle.

"Cum for me." he uttered, and the mini encouragement and vibration from his voice had you undone within a few seconds. Gushing into his face which he happily guzzled on, not stopping until you told him to stop, sensitive from the overstimulation.

He went up to your face and you could see the shiny slick on his lips, "That felt good?"

You smile, pulling him in for a kiss, tasting yourself in his tongue, "Very much, but what about you?"

"Baby, didn't I tell you that tonight's all about you?" he shakes his head, using his own limbs to spread your thighs open, allowing him to slot himself in the middle, goosebumps rising on your skin when you feel his tip prod at your entrance.

"Then what are you waiting for?" you taunt, wrapping your legs around his waist, pressing him closer to your soaking cunt. "Take me, Jake."

You really have a way with words or maybe you have this effect on him like magic, whenever you talk, all he could think about is making you his.

Inch by inch, he inserted his big, fat cock inside you and you know, because you feel it. The way he stretches you out just the right way, the vein on the side of his dick pulses every time you clenched on him, and when he finally bottomed in, you both let out a sigh that you didn't know you were holding.

Jake grits his teeth, putting the tip in and he thinks he's crazy because it's just the head but your pussy is sucking him all in and it almost made him cum.

He calmed himself down, if he's intending to pleasure you as much as he could, he's sure as hell to make himself last longer than usual.

He lets you adjust to his length, taking in a slow pace when you whisper for him to move. Gently rocking his hips into yours, making sure that he wasn't hurting you in any sort.

Then you begged for him to move faster, harder, truly, you're making this more difficult than it's supposed to be. He could hardly contain himself, but the more you egged him on, the more he let loose.

"Ah!" you cried out when Jake did a rather ruthless thrust, his tip hitting your cervix deliciously and it was getting him drunk off of you. He got a taste of you, and it'll be difficult to stop. He rammed into you mercilessly, the creaking of the bed was the least of your concerns now as you're more focused on the delightful feeling he's giving you, unconsciously scratching his back.

Jake hisses at the pain, but it motivated him to no end, knowing that you love what he's doing to you right now. Knowing that the reason you're acting like this is because he's doing you, as of the moment.

Your warm, wet walls hugged his cock so nicely that it made him believe that your pussy is made for him. Truly, every time he pushes in, you get tighter and it feels like paradise.

Nothing matters but the hushed moans of his name on your lips, he doesn't care about anything other than how good you feel.

You weren't in a good condition either, you're losing grasp of what's real, drooling mindlessly at the delight you're receiving. The man on top of you gives it his all, fucking you with all his strength as his length hits all the perfect spots inside you, making your eyes roll and see stars at the back of your brain.

Jake really tried to hold on, but your sudden release made your walls squeeze his cock, a low groan coming out of him as he cursed and complimented you on how well you're doing for him.

"Baby, I'm close." he warned you, sweat forming on his forehead and dripping down to your cheeks, and he finds it so hot when you dart your tongue out to lick the salty substance away.

"Inside, Jake. Please come inside me."

"Are you sure?" he slowed down a bit, peering into your eyes for confirmation.

Then you cupped his face, smiling at him lovingly, "Yes, I trust you."

That was all it took for him to release his seed inside you, thrusting shallowly to ride out his high until he collapsed on top of you, rolling over and slipping out of your walls when you halfheartedly complained about how heavy he is.

He finally did it.

Jake felt like a champion, one chance was enough for him and he's thanking all of the deities out there internally for giving him the opportunity to show you the love he's been meaning to shower you with.

He felt his body stiffen when you laid your head on his chest, telling him to stay, but what terrified him the most was when he listened to your request and naturally wrapped his arms around you.

Jake focused on you, combing your hair using his fingers as he watches you drift into dreamland.

You look ethereal like this, glowing under the dim light of the street lamps outside and how he wishes for you to continue being with him like this until you're grey and old.

He'll slip out of bed later, (couldn't risk getting caught by your family in the morning), and write you a note to make sure that you won't feel like shit when you wake up. For now, he'll relish in the blanket of your warmth and even breathing.

The boy sighs, his hand moving to your back, fingers lightly tracing his name over your smooth skin, 'J A K E '

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

It was supposed to be a one-time thing, but then Jake finds himself in your window again the next night, and you let him in every single time. The moment he steps inside your room, no more pretending, straight to kisses and you getting railed into your mattress.

It was like a routine you both fell into, but as much as the guilt gnaws on your conscience, it was too good to let go. A drug you couldn't get enough of, you both have fallen into this wild goose chase but it's very much late to back out.

That's what happens behind closed doors when the moon shines, the strenuous task begins during the day.

Seriously, how are you guys supposed to act in front of your family and friends when there is 'something' going on.

It was exhilarating though. Sneaking knowing glances across the room, sometimes with a matching wink, the subtle thigh touching, following each other into a room without any people just to steal smooches.

It was all fun and games until someone had to make the situation even more arduous, courtesy of your brother whining about going to the beach without your parents aka friendly bonding.

It should be easy, acting like normal best friends and playing around in the water but noo, of course even a simple hang-out would turn into a battle of 'the first one to gape like a fish loses.'

By all accounts, it never crossed Jake's mind that you'd be daring enough to wear a swimsuit that shows a lot of skin, because you're usually a conservative little girl. So he was astonished when you exited the changing room, sporting the sexiest red two-piece, shaking his head in disbelief when you discreetly threw a smirk on his way.

He knew you were playing a game, displaying your ass for him, swaying your hips while walking towards the chosen spot for today's hang-out.

Jungwon whistled, Sunoo made a surprised pikachu face, and Riki paid little to no attention to you when you sat down on the blanket with them, under a big umbrella that you rented out shielding you from the scorching sun.

"Is this what the city air does? I dig it." Jungwon says, giggling when Riki hollered in disgust, side-eyeing you before making a comment about how he'll smack Jungwon in the head if he remotely said anything like that again.

Jungwon raised his hands up in defense, looking over Sunoo's direction for assistance, "I was complimenting her! Help me out here, man."

Sunoo raised an eyebrow, doing his infamous googly eyes at his friend, "You did sound like a pervert there but yes, I'll agree that Y/N looks great." he turned to you and gave you a thumbs up, to which you returned with finger guns.

Jake quietly nursed his bottle of cold beer, not participating in the conversation until the three stooges pointed it out.

"Yoi, one beer is all it takes for you to go mute?" Jungwon mused, Riki followed up with the teasing, saying that maybe Jake hasn't been getting laid, thus, the cranky disposition.

"Wha-! No, lemme tell you that I've been getting it so well nowadays." he defended himself, but not without giving you an inconspicuous glance.

"I don't wanna hear your sexcapades," Sunoo stood up, pointing at the ocean excitedly, "I think it's time to play, no?"

The other boys agreed except for you, telling them that you want to take a look of the scenery first before joining them in the water.

"You sure?" Jake asked, and you gave him the positive signal and he shrugged, "Suit yourself."

It was his turn to make you flustered.

Now, you have seen the guy naked, but it was during lights out, not in broad daylight, so the gulping that you did was unplanned. Staring at him while he removed his plain tee, bearing his toned muscles and abs for you to ogle at.

You glared at him when he threw a smug look in your direction, thanking the gods that the other younger boys were oblivious as fuck, mainly, their priority was the race to the water because the loser will buy them milkshakes later.

"What are you playing at Jake?" you questioned, standing up from your seat and doing your very best to look at him square in the eye, forcing yourself not to look down.

"Baby," he says, walking closer to you, licking his lips when he focuses on your cleavage, "you started this didn't you? Make sure to finish it then."

You weren't able to utter another word when he walked away and joined the others in the sea like nothing even happened, like he didn't make your heart race with exhilaration.

You huffed, turning on your heels to ambulate around the area, unaware of Jake's predatory gaze on you.

You watched the soles of your feet sink into the sand, leaving footprints behind, your brain contemplating the whole scenario that is sure to bring a storm into the fragile house made of cards. Starting from when you and Jake began this.. affair. Then your thoughts drifted to Sunghoon, you mowed at the unearthly concept, your conscience punching you in the face.

Your boyfriend is probably out there, tiring himself out during practice, doing his best to improve his skating skills so he could show off and make you proud when he wins all the gold medals for his competitions. While you're here, doing the unimaginable with a man that is supposed to be just a friend.

You paused, hugging yourself as some kind of comfort. Maybe you missed Sunghoon so much that you unconsciously went and found some kind of intimacy, any kind of affection that will satisfy you while you're away from your lover.

Will you really put the blame on that? Yes, it's pathetic but you have already crossed an unforbidden threshold, a thorny one that bleeds you dry but the more you drown in it, the more you get hooked.

You shook your head, trying to get a clear vision of how this is supposed to end, too lost in your own thoughts that you didn't notice a pair that was trudging towards you, that is until their voices startled you out of your reverie.

"Uh yes? How may I help you?" you inquired cautiously, looking around just in case, and you felt stupid for not covering up because you can definitely feel their stares on your exposed skin.

"Relax pretty, we won't hurt you." the guy with a mullet spoke, smirking at you, the taller boy beside him nodded before adding a statement in.

"We noticed that you're alone, it's kind of dangerous here you know?"

"I'm a local, I know my way around here." you replied in a monotonous tone, letting them know that you're not interested in whatever they want to do with you.

"If you're a local," the mullet boy came closer to you, invading your personal space which made you frown and back up, "then how come that your face is not familiar?"

You took a deep breath, getting ready to shut them down when a towel was draped around you, a protective arm slinging on your shoulder and pulling you into a cast-iron body.

"Because she's keen on keeping her privacy, to avoid harrowing guys like you."

You'd recognize that voice anywhere, but you were surprised to hear such menacing articulation from him, very different from the usual sugary one that he always uses.

"Well hello to you too, Jake." the taller guy with brown hair greeted the aussie, a friendly smile on his face yet his passive-aggressive tone threw his calm demeanor away.

"Hello, EJ and Nicholas, didn't expect to see you here." Jake responds, matching the taunting attitude of the duo.

You clung to Jake, not minding the droplets of water if it means that you'll feel protected.

"Oh, is this your new bitch?" the one called Nicholas laughed, giving an amused applause and a low whistle, "You really have great taste, Sim."

You heard a low growl erupting from Jake's chest, his muscles tensing and you saw how he clenched his fist, getting ready to throw a punch if the need arises, "Don't you fucking disrespect my girl."

"Ah!" the ponyo look-alike named EJ mused, like a lightbulb went off in his brain, "Your girl? She's your girlfriend?"

"No way!" Nicholas sniggers, a surprise etched on his face, not believing what he was hearing, "A fuck boy like you settling down with a girl like her? That's some fucking news man."

One moment Jake was beside you, then he was gone, launching a full blown strike into Nicholas's face, and putting your scouts honor on the line, you’re sure heard something crack.

"Jake!" you cried out, fear creeping into you as you tried to simmer Jake down.

"A girl like her? A girl like her?! Fucking asshole, take that back!" Jake yells, about to attack the other man again but a divine intervention transpired, namely your brother and friends who came to the rescue.

They noticed that you two were gone for a while now, and thank god they decided to hunt for you both or something very bad might have happened.

"Oh my! Hey! Hyung, calm down!" Jungwon and Sunoo held Jake back while Riki got in between, helping Nicholas up, asking for forgiveness to deescalate the fight.

"Don't apologize to that asshole, he fucking disrespected your sister!" Jake shouts, breathing heavily through his nose, struggling to contain his anger.

Nicholas scoffs and wipes the blood from his busted lower lip, "I was stating a fact, that she is your bitch."

Silence ensues when Riki harshly shoves Nicholas, his friend EJ catching him before his ass makes contact with the sand. You've never seen your younger brother display an act of dominance before, rage brewing in his glare as he spoke in a threatening tone, "EJ, you're the sensible one here, get this fucker out of my face before I do something that we'll regret."

"This runt-" Nicholas was about to retort but he was dragged away by EJ, effectively stopping the brawl.

Jungwon and Sunoo sighed in relief, finally releasing Jake from their grip. Riki then went to you, softly patting you on the head as if he's saying that he's got you, that no one is allowed to mess with you except for him. Then he turned to Jake, "Thank you for defending her, hyung."

You all decided to go home after that incident, the mood totally ruined and you can hear the boys plot revenge as payback while you're changing, and you had to stop them right there.

As a compensation though, you and Riki invited them to stay for dinner, to which they happily agreed, not wanting to miss the opportunity of having free food.

When all of you stepped foot inside the reassuring space of your home, the sullen spirit from before was lifted up by some video games and snacks that your parents provided, letting you guys have fun while they prepare dinner.

You watched as Sunoo, Jungwon and Riki yell at the top of their lungs, accusing one another of cheating until one of them actually does it and everyone loses their minds. You laugh, then suddenly you were hyper aware of Jake's presence beside you on the sofa when his knee accidentally touched yours.

Your eyes discreetly slide over to his hunched form, the dim lights of the living room somehow highlights his sharp features even more, yet it made him look softer. You always had a habit of being obvious it seems since Jake turned to you with a questioning look on his face, silently asking you what's wrong.

You have to make up an excuse asap, and the lacerations on his knuckles provided the best one.

"I think we should treat that." you pointed at his hands, crummy reason but you'd stick to that rather than admit that you have been admiring him like a creep.

"Oh this? It's fine, it doesn't hurt that much." he looks at his knuckles, waving off your offer but you insist, telling him that it's the least that you can do after acting as your knight in shining armor in your damsel in distress. Thus, you find yourself alone with him in the bathroom, Jake sitting on the cover of the toilet while you rummage through the cabinet for the first aid kit.

"Found it, here." you ushered him to show his hand to you, placately tending to his wound, cooing at him like a mother hen whenever he hisses at the sting, making him chortle at the way you're acting. When it's all done, he thanked you, ready to leave but for some reason, you tugged him back to his position and placed your lips on his in a flash.

Jake was suddenly rigid, not really knowing how to react at first but he is nothing but a weak man when it comes to you, so he did what he does best, show you how much power you have over him, kissing you back as hard as he could. Then your next words made his head spin, like he's drunk off of you.

"I haven't thank you enough, Jake." you murmur against his lips, lowering your head to have your mouth reach the skin on his neck, sucking and biting it until you have left a visible mark. Your hands slithered over his clothed body, feeling his abs as you got on your knees for him, "Let me take care of you this time, hm?"

How can he even say no to you, he's going crazy right now. Your doe eyes begging to him, to let you pleasure him. Your silky voice calling him baby like he's the only boy you've ever called with that name. Your small hand on his crotch, palming him over his jeans. He couldn't say no to you.

"Go on then, I'm all yours." he rasps, relaxing his whole body and enjoying the show that you'll gladly perform for him.

You smiled and bit your lips, excitement coursing through your veins as you began to unbuckle his belt, lifting himself up to help you remove his pants and boxers so you could get to work.

His length sprung up a bit, having been freed from its constraints, still a bit soft but your mouth still waters from its sheer size. Your adventures with Jake always end up with him pleasuring you, never really giving you the chance to appreciate him like how you've always wanted.

You gently grabbed his manhood, your finger tracing the prominent vein on the side down to his balls, causing a sharp inhale from the man above you. You licked your lips, gazing at him from under your lashes, "What do you want me to do, Jake?"

God fucking shit.

Jake could cum just from your innocent teasing but he has to hold himself back, he must enjoy this, because he’s aware that this will be the best blow that he'll ever receive. He hasn’t experienced it, but he’s about to and if it’s you, he knows damn well that it will be out of this world. 

He takes hold of your hair, gathering your strands and creating a ponytail, letting you kiss around his crotch and groin, then he stops you with a rather harsh tug on your scalp.

"Take me baby, use that pretty mouth of yours, and only your mouth." he instructs, giving emphasis to not using your hands which you immediately obligue, massaging his balls with your tongue until he tells you to stop.

Jake went and grabbed his dick, the tip leaking with precum and had half the mind to smear it all over your glossy lips, "Spit on it, then use your hands."

He doesn't need to elaborate more as you collect whatever moisture you can get inside your mouth, spitting on his member and lathering it all over his cock, moving your palm up and down, the slick making your movements smoother.

He can't wait anymore, not when you're allowing him to do things to you. No more restraints as he grabbed your chin, your mouth forming an 'o' shape and gave you this look, quietly informing you that he's done playing. You nodded, finally taking him in your mouth and you couldn't help the pride that swells within you when he suppresses his groans.

You coughed up a bit when the tip of his cock hit the back of your throat, some tears forming due to gag reflex, but Jake was unforgiving, whispering about how good you take him and that you should do more if you really wanted to thank him for everything that he's done for you.

You began to bob your head up and down, relaxing your jaw and hollowing your cheeks so you could take more of him, ignoring the pool of spit that formed on the corner of your mouth, letting it drip down your neck. 

You started off slow, gradually increasing the pace. You used the tip of your tongue to zone in on the smaller and more sensitive areas of his member, pausing the bobbing of your head so you could pay attention to his angry, red head. Wrapping your lips around it and sucking, like a child with a lollipop, slowly.. slowly, enjoying his grunts and praises about how good you make him feel.

Jake felt his dick twitch when you used your hand, wrapping it around the base of his cock, adding pleasure to the parts that couldn't reach your mouth (because he's big af), and he felt himself losing control, a small apology leaving his mouth before he sets the rhythm himself. Holding your head steady as he stood up, his manhood not leaving your mouth and he started thrusting mercilessly. His dominant side always gets to you, and he knows because he's hearing those gagged moans as he used you like his personal fuck toy.

"I'm close baby." he warns, and he looks down, and fucking hell, the image has been burned into his brain. Messy, you're basically crying and drooling around his cock, your hands helplessly holding onto his thighs for support while you struggle to breathe through your nose. 

Truly, the best view he's ever seen.

He staggers, not bothering to pull out of you, releasing his seed inside your mouth, not giving you a choice but to swallow all of it.

Jake exhales, satisfaction painted on his face while he slides out of your wet cavern, finally giving you the opportunity to catch your breath.

He knelt down in front of you, his forefinger smudged the strayed mixture of his cum and your saliva on your chin, swirling it around before inserting his digit inside your mouth, a smirk forming in his lips when you obediently sucked on it.

"That's my girl, now let's get you cleaned up, yeah?"

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

"Bro, hey! Are you listening?"

Felix, one of Jake's friends from Australia snapped his fingers in front of the said man, breaking him out of his daze as he turned his attention from his phone to his friend.

"Pardon?" he asked, shiny eyes blinking while smiling innocently.

Felix rolled his eyes, pointing an accusing finger at the younger, "You've been fixated on your phone the whole day. Say, you're waiting for your girlfriend to text you, no?"

"I'm not!" he fights back, "And how many times do I have to say this, she's not my girlfriend!" he grumbles, running a hand through his hair.

Jake has always been a popular guy in this town, and obviously, after the incident at the beach, rumors fly through gossip faster than light.

"Jake and Y/N are together!"

That's what they all say, and as much as he loves the sound of you two dating, he's worried that the.. girls that he's been with might go crazy and attack you. He doesn't want you to get hurt, but all that he can do is deny everything. Heck, even Jungwon, Riki, and Sunoo helped in putting the baseless fire out.

"Doesn't look like it to me." Chan then interrupted the discussion, emerging from the kitchen with bottles of coke in his hand, setting it on the table and letting the other boys refresh themselves from the heat of the summer season.

"That's what I've been saying." the freckled boy agrees, finally having someone side with him.

Jake was about to retort again after gulping his sugary cola, but he stopped when he received a notification from you, saying that you need a ride and you're currently at the parking area behind the mall. He jumped from his seat, bamboozling his way out of his friends' apartment, bidding his friends a hasty goodbye.

Jake went back for a second, his head peeking from the door, "Oh and Felix." 

Said man was startled, pointing at himself with a confused look on why his name was called all of a sudden.

"Yeah you, to answer your question earlier. No, I won't be going to the club or party or whatsoever. Hooroo!" and he was gone.

The two boys who were left in the living room looked at each other and shrugged, "Not his girlfriend, he said."

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

You were near having a panic attack, who would've thought that going to the mall to buy a new dress (because your last one was sadly lost and never found), would cause such chaos?

Tons of girls are either asking you about how you got together with Jake and how lucky you are or just plainly wanting to pull your hair out for stealing their prince charming... and you had enough of their bullshit.

You stood there in the parking lot, waiting for the very main cause of your dilemma to come and pick you up. Just then, a familiar stygian Kia entered the empty lot, stopping right in front of you then Jake himself appeared right out of the vehicle.

You wanted to scream at him for causing you so much trouble but a lump was caught in your throat when you saw his disheveled appearance, clearly rushing here to get to you but still managed to look exceptionally good.

How can one look like a painting da Vinci himself made even when his hair is all over the place and the collar of his denim top was not fixed at all?

Fear not, only he, Sim Jaeyun, can pull it off.

"Y/N! Are you okay?!" he dashed to you, holding you by your shoulders and examining you thoroughly if you were hurt. He swears, if he sees one tiny scratch on you, he'll haunt whoever caused the damage.

You almost cried at how sweet he is, but you opted to bury your face on the crook of his neck instead, surprising him but he returned the embrace nonetheless, entwining his fingers on the strands of your hair and setting his chin atop of your head. Apologizing for whatever happened to you, knowing that he was the root of all of these.

"No," you detached yourself, staring down at your white sneakers and how it complements Jake's brown leather shoes, "I guess I was shocked because I was literally being mobbed in there. Felt like a celebrity for a second." you tried to joke about the situation but Jake remained sympathetic.

"What are you even doing out here?"

"Well, I still need a dress for the festival.. which is tomorrow."

Jake facepalmed, laughing at his stupidity because how could he forget?

He held your hand in his, tugging you with him and ushering you inside his vehicle. When asked where he was taking you, all he replied to you was giddy "Secret!"

Soon, you arrived at his flat, and you were awed because it's been too long since you visited in here. Certainly, it still looks the same and the memories came rushing in like a wave.

Running around the house, chasing Jake with a spatula because he thought it was a great idea to scare you while you were in the bathroom, planting an oak tree in his small backyard, making him promise to take care of it even if he’s hoary and hunched.

You followed him to the steps, a delicate smile on your lips when you saw the rust on his door, surely a sign of the aged building. Upon entering, a familiar border collie ran up to you, sniffing you before wagging its tail in pure joy, making you squeal because she remembered you.

"Layla!" you hugged the little bundle of joy, rubbing her fur zealously, "You've grown so much! I missed you!"

Hearing your voice must have set off something from the dog as she threw herself over you, basically begging to be babied like how you did before. And you are willing! Except that she’s hogging you, her whole weight pushed on you which made it hard to breathe. 

Jake, who was standing at the side, watching the wholesome interaction with glittering expression sensed your distress, "Layla! Come here!" he called the dog, using the treats that were stored as a way to entice the furry creature, which definitely worked.

"Sorry about that, she gets excited really easily." Jake went to you and helped you up when Layla was busy with her snacks, "Told you she really missed you." he adds, making you chuckle.

"I can see that. Well, what do you need to do that requires you to kidnap me here?" you asked, gazing at him curiously which made him nervous.

"Right." he scratched the back of his neck, giving you a sheepish grin, "Would you mind if I go to my room for a bit?"

You puckered your lips in curiosity but didn't question him any further, telling him that it's fine and that you'll wait. When he got out of his room, he was holding a pink paper bag, shyly walking up to you and handing you the item.

"What is this?" you accepted the bag, fishing whatever it was residing in there, then your eyes shimmered in recognition, hastily pulling it out and an attire was presented to you.

An elegant, satin red dress. An outfit that looked exactly like the one that you were eyeing back when you were 15, the age where you wanted to act like a model or some actress, and the red dress in a catalogue made you feel like you could reach such dreams.

"Do you want to try it?" he asks and you nod your head, heading towards the bathroom, leaving Jake and his nerves for him to calm. But you wouldn't let him, how could he when you got out of the toilet wearing the shade of autumn that represents all of his thoughts and emotions for you.

You walked closer to him, merrily twirling around to show off, "What do you think?" you look at him expectantly, skittish for his reaction.

Jake gave you a once over, hands in his pockets as he raked in your appearance, from your head to toe, and he tried his best to come up with a coherent answer. "You are," he inhales, removing his hands from his pockets and throwing it up in the air and placing it on either of your shoulders, "ethereal."

His heart beats strangely fast, which is a natural occurrence whenever he's with you. It always happens whether he likes it or not, something that he has no control over. He fixes his gaze into your gorgeous eyes and he soaks in them. 

Everyday he swims to the thoughts of you, diving deep into the complexity of his feelings and hoping that when he ascends, you'll finally be able to see him in a different light.

"Say Y/N, would you like me to chaperone you during the fiesta?" he queries, and you couldn't help but laugh at his old method of asking you to be his date for the party.

You gathered his hands on your shoulders and held them into yours, transferring your warmth into his own skin as opposed to the cool air that starts to surround the house due to the darkening of the skies outside and the whirring of the air-conditioner, "I would love to."

Then your phone sets off, what a way to ruin the moment but you were pulled back into reality when you saw the caller.

"I'll be right back." you gave the man a tight smile, trudging down the hallways and out to the backyard to give yourself some privacy, unbeknownst of Jake's footsteps that followed you due to your anxiousness, but he made his presence hidden, and his blood boiled when he realized who it was that you're talking to.

He heard snippets of the conversation, and as much as he knows that he's in the wrong, the jealousy rises up to his stomach unprovoked, choking him until he's out of air.

"Yes, Hoonie, I'm having the best time here."

Best time because he's with you, making you feel like you're the only woman in the world.

"I do, I'll send you a photo of the dress soon."

The dress that he personally bought.

"Alright, take care. Uh-huh, love you too, my figure skating prince."

Well, that's fucking it.

The green eyed monster got the best of him, rage seeping through his bones and.. and he thinks he needs a glass of water to settle down. He runs to the kitchen, reaching for his favorite mug and filling it with ice cold water, letting it run down his throat and he wishes he could just dump it down on his brain to cool off the fiery envy that swiftly creeps up on his whole being.

He jumped a bit when you called his name, startling him when you were there, standing by the kitchen door with concern gracing your features, "Are you okay? Is something wrong? You don't look too good."

A barrage of questions and he answered it all in his brain in fear of saying something that might potentially hurt you.

Is he okay? No.

Is something wrong? A lot. You. Him. This. Whatever the fuck this is.

He doesn't look good? That’s where you're wrong. He always looks good.

His internal battle and fuming facade had you worried, taking steps closer to him in an attempt to console him. He was fine a few minutes ago, now he’s acting like this? 

The moment you stepped into his sanctuary, touching him on his biceps, all his walls broke down and he immediately pulled you closer to him, connecting your lips together in a hot, messy, searing kiss.

He held you by your waist and you automatically wrapped your arms around his neck, granting him the license to trap you between his sturdy body and the marbled counter.

On the other hand, when your boyfriend called you, taking in his soft voice, his longing words. Hearing him tell you how much he misses you and how everything will be easier only if he has you by his side.. and his never ending canadian pancake jokes, this time with maple syrup.

It reminds you that you are taken, but you let yourself fool around for too long and you're stricken with guilt. Sin written all over your heart and soul because Sunghoon's own heart was getting broken without him even knowing and Jake's will sooner or later be shattered as well.

You walked back inside the building, determined to put an end to this fallacy as soon as possible. You've let yourself fall into the rabbit hole, and you believe that you have been only missing your other half to the point where you willingly rekindled an old flame, thinking that this summer thing would be the answer to your loneliness.

But you proved yourself wrong yet again when you let yourself be submerged into Jake's honeyed touches and spicy kisses.

You couldn't simply say no to him, not when every crevice of your body has been explored by him, savored and shaped to perfection exactly to his liking.

You moaned his name when his hand massaged your boobs over the thin dress, his thumb adding slight pressure to where he's sure your nipples are located. His tongue never stopped invading your mouth, asserting dominance that you've never seen from him before.

He hoisted you up the counter, spreading your legs for him to slot his tiny waist in, and when the need for oxygen was needed, you both parted ways and the string of saliva between your lips made the tips of yours ears red.

Jake's heated gaze had you embarrassed, his left hand on your thigh started moving, deft fingers tracing faint lines on your skin and you barely made out the words.. 'M I N E.'

You were inclined to return his stare, and all you could do was to revive the long forgotten yearning that you had left a year ago, everything that has been existing inside his hazel orbs.

There were a lot of uncertainties. What if you didn't leave your small town to pursue a city life? What if you stayed here instead? Will the changes be different like how things were right now?

No lingering stares across the room, no skinships concealed by friendship, no more denying of what you two really are because.. fuck this all. Friends do not know the taste of each other, a simple platonic relationship doesn't give you a whole orchestra playing Taylor Swift's Wildest Dreams like that one scene in Bridgerton.

No, friendship doesn't make you feel like you're in heaven but love does.

This was supposed to be a one time summer fling, when the leaves turn into the color of wine that you had been nursing late at night, a past time that you developed whenever you're troubled about what you're really going through with Jake; you shall leave it all behind.

You will, but for now, the necessity to bury yourself in Jake's iridescence is your utmost priority.

You pulled him in again for a kiss, this time with a plan.

"I don't think this will reach the bedroom." he murmurs, his hands all over your body as he tries to feel you more, palms finally back on your thighs to lift your dress up, revealing black laced panties that had him groaning and inevitably, harder down there.

You giggled, pecking his cheeks while you started to unbutton his denim shirt, tracing your fingers over his golden skin, "I don't mind, do whatever you want. Also, leave this on." you say, admiring his chiseled muscles under his top.

He curses under his breath, you really know how to rile him up. You know him too well, and he's down bad for that.

Jake has always been a good boy, and he doesn't need to be told twice. If you told him to do whatever, then he'll do just that. First, he plans to fuck you in that tiny little red dress.

His hand traveled to your panties, chuckling when he felt a wet spot in the middle, his middle and forefingers playing with it, "Damn baby, haven't done anything yet you're this wet?"

You whined at his teasing, moving your hips for more friction but Jake pulled away, causing you to protest which seemed to please him, given by his smug countenance. He clicked his tongue and raked in your appearance, in a complete disarray and he's glad that he can affect you this much.

"I need you to be patient, baby. Can you do it for me?" he mumbles, voice dropping a pitch lower and it makes you wetter because it's so damn hot, not like his predatory leering helps your condition. Although, as much as you wanted to test his leniency, you decided to listen to him this time around, sitting still and watching him do his thing. 

Your obedience greatly pleased the man, leaning down to give you a peck on your top lip, lightly nibbling on it before pulling away. 

His hands move on your arms for a second, moving up to your shoulders. His calloused palms, probably from doing sports and playing the violin, are clement against your smooth skin, goosebumps running along the path that was traced. 

Jake seems to be in a trance, hyper fixated on your body as he glides the straps down, guiding your arms so he could remove them through the straps, causing the upper portion of the dress to get loose in the process. 

The action reveals more of your supple chest for him to gawp and you let out a gasp when Jake buried his face on your cleavage, trailing smooches on your chest and when he can’t take it anymore, he straightens himself up and he completely removes the bodice of the dress. 

He takes the initiative to bring your bodies closer together, spreading your thighs wider and bunching the dress on your waist, until his hard on can be felt on your clothed womanhood. 

Jake then resumes his ministrations, hands going over your belly, outlining your rib cage and his fingers traces the shape of your breasts, the sensations are building up fast and the agitation is starting to get to you. You made that apparent when you wrapped your legs around his waist, pushing him closer to give him a silent signal of where you want him to touch you. 

He only chuckles, dipping his head near your jawline to trail kisses over it, reaching your ears and whispering sly statements, “We’ll get there, princess. Hold on tight and enjoy the ride, okay?” 

“But Jake..” you whined and he shuts you up with a filthy, open-mouthed kiss where his tongue dominates your mouth, he takes that as an opportunity to engulf your boobs into his large hands, tenderly kneading and squeezing, tracing your areola in the process to make you squirm. 

You moan into his mouth when his fingers rub your erect nipples slowly, increasing in speed and pressure as seconds go by. Your moans getting louder when he adds some twisting and pulling, pleasurable but not enough to cause pain. 

Jake can’t help the groan that escaped him due to your incessant grinding, directly stimulating both of your lower areas. Your damp panties have been clinging on your pussy, your juices soaking even his jeans, specifically the area of his raging boner. 

Jake disconnects from the liplock, observing your tousled appearance and despite his wobbly vision, he can confidently say that you’re insanely otherworldly. 

The vermillion tint on your cheeks, blown-out pupils and bruised lips. Truly, the epitome of the goddess of beauty, his one and only. 

“Jake?” you questioned, in a hazy stupor with your labored breathing, “What happened?” 

Jake shakes his head, leaning down to rub the tip of his nose on yours, giving you a butterfly in the stomach-inducing feelings, “Just that you’re gorgeous.” 

He chuckles when you squeaked at his compliment, removing his hands from your boobs in lieu of grabbing your ass, further pressing you on his hardness before leaning down on your chest, his warm breath hitting your mounds that had you shuddering. 

You clutched on his shoulders for support when he began sucking on your nipple and gyrating on your covered wetness. You felt him flatten his tongue on your boob, covering an ample surface, turning into the hardened edge of his wet appendage flicking the nub repeatedly. 

A brave lioness is what you are, primed for battles and victory yet you are nothing but a lady in desperate need of release in Jake’s presence and skillful tongue. 

Soon enough, when your clit has been prodded far too many times by the rough fabric of your undergarment and your erected buds have also reached their limit, your back arched in pleasure, your orgasm washing over you like waves. 

Jake continued his movements, ceasing only when you whine in overstimulation. 

“My baby did a good job.” Jake praises you, patting your head and smoothing the bird’s nest on top of it. A spent smile is painted on your face, slumping onto the tiled countertop to catch your breath, then your eyes almost bulge out of its sockets when you hear Jake say that you’re not done yet.

He merely raised an eyebrow, getting rid of his pants and personally manhandling you into a position of his liking but is also comfortable for you. He pushed your panties to the side, too impatient to remove it and lining the tip of his leaking cock in your entrance. 

“I still haven’t cum yet, princess.” he mutters, holding your thighs apart as he plunges into you, inch by inch, “You’ll help me, right?” 

You nod your head, hands going over to his chest and he immediately grapples it in his, groaning in pleasure when your gummy walls sucked him in, but he held the overwhelming urge to do it one go as he wanted to feel you in the most intimate way. 

“That’s my good girl.” he moans, bottoming out of you. He stays motionless for a few minutes, giving you adequate time to adjust. Then he started moving, freeing your hands to grip the sides of your hips, his pace was tamed at first but he went feral when you beseech him for more. 

His thrusts gradually escalate, fast-moving and solid, making you feel so full. Every drag of his member on your slick creates squelching sounds mixed with your mewls, it rings in your eardrums, and the result is you getting wetter. 

You’re basically lathering his counter and skin with your juices but Jake couldn’t care less, frowning in concentration as he does his best to pleasure both of you. 

“Don’t stop.” you mumble along with other incoherent sentences, his darkened eyes glimmered, ramming inside you with all his might, adjusting a bit so he’s able to hit your sweet spot, and when he finally hits it, his reward is your chants of his name. 

“Don’t worry, babe.” he grunts, tilting to match your face to grace you a saccharine kiss, his pace unrelenting and merciless, not wasting any minute as he bullies into your wetness without any care in the world, “I don’t plan on stopping.” he mumbles against your lips.

The knot in your belly gets tighter each time his cock grazes your g-spot and you purposefully clenched around him, causing him to unconsciously dig his nails into the flesh of your thighs. 

The euphoric feeling was too much for you to handle, closing your eyes and dumping your head on his shoulder. 

Jake’s gasps and low grunts are echoing in your head, slightly opening your eyes when you feel a rather pleasant yet burning sensation, realizing that he’s rubbing your clit. Adding onto the stockpiling gratification. 

You heard Jake curse, expressing how breath-taking and marvelous you are, in every aspect and facet. You tried peeking at him in spite of your incoming cloud nine, and in your drunken stupor of paradise, your enticement towards his sweaty neck invoked you to lean in and suck on his skin. 

Jake moans in delight, a specially harsh thrust was given to you in the process, taking you by surprise as it strikes the perfect site that had you tingling and creaming all over his member. 

You accidentally bite a bit too hard on his neck, marginally leaving teeth marks that’ll surely take at least a few days to heal. 

Jake’s hips stuttered, groaning rather gutturally at your dripping, warm cavern’s involuntary clenching, seizing his cock and as much as he wishes for the intercourse to carry on for a little longer, he has also reached his limit. 

He releases his seed inside, painting your walls white and warming your core. He keep his languid strokes to ride your highs, halting when the dopamine dies down.  

The smell of sex drifts in the kitchen. Sweaty, hot, satisfaction and fulfillment surrounds the place. Both of your strained breathing reiterates the events that have transpired. 

You made the first move, lifting your head from his shoulder and pushing his sweaty locks that got stuck on his forehead, smiling at him giddily, “That was amazing.” 

He wheezes at your pronouncement, “I know. You are amazing.” 

“Why is it always me?” you complain, not accepting his never ending praises towards you. Besides, it wasn’t you who’s doing all the work in your.. endeavors. 

“Because,” he engulfs your hand in his, kissing your knuckles and fingers one by one, “that’s what you are. Amazing.” 

You roll your eyes at his flattery, then the joy you’re feeling turns into sorrow when he pulls out of you, some of his cum oozing out of your hole. The emptiness nearly made you whine but you fight off the impulsive thoughts of doing so. 

After cleaning up and making sure that you’re presentable for other people to see, Jake offered to take you home and you accepted. Throughout the ride, you two are singing at the top of your lungs, ranging from love songs to rock songs, tittering when the other’s voice cracks. 

When you’re finally home, you are reluctant to separate with him, but he assured you that he’ll see you tomorrow. As he should because he is your date for the event. 

Bidding goodbyes was a herculean task, managing to do it when your parents themselves went out of the house due to their anxiety at the car parked in front of the house for 10 minutes. 

You steer away from your family’s curious questions, telling them that you are tired (the truth) and you crave some alone time to rejuvenate. 

 It is a very particular day, like you two have discovered something new that veered your social link to a blithe yet brooding one. The possible consequences of your poor decision-making was washed away by fatigue, thoughts of Jake and the excitement of tomorrow’s event lulling you to a dreamless yet deep sleep.

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

You watch the youngsters run and jump in thrill at the vibrant and bright atmosphere of the location for the town’s long awaited celebration, sighing through your nose but  still laughing at their energetic vibes. 

“Takoyaki!” Riki exclaims, nudging his friends and quite literally yowling at them when they disagree at his suggestion.

“I want some candied apples.” Jungwon points at a certain stall, Sunoo’s eyes following suit and the smile that he’s sporting is the biggest you have ever seen. (desserts do have that kind of effect, maybe that’s why they always have a room in the stomach.) 

“Really? So early in the evening and you want sweets?” the tallest among the guys deadpans, turning to you for help, “Knock some sense into these idiots.” 

You pinched the bridge of your nose, nonchalantly waving Riki off, “Put on your big boy pants and deal with it.” 

You ignore your brother’s bleating, facing Jake who is beside you the entire time and fretting over the fact that your mother and father left you to look after the boys to have their ‘alone time.’ 

“Jake?” you called for his attention when you noticed that he wasn’t responding to your hardcore yapping, only to find him immersed at you. 

“Jake? Is something wrong?” the thumping in your chest accelerates as he peers at you with dreamy eyes, permeating with fondness and yearning. You are not entirely sure on how to react, standing there like a statue until the man in front of you scratches the back of his neck in embarrassment. 

“I’m sorry.” he laughs bashfully, “You are simply glowing, a rare jewel. I can’t stop admiring you.” he admits and the blush on your cheeks darkened. 

Your appearance is not something to be confident at, you look decent at best if you say so. 

You wore the red dress that Jake gifted you, paired with rubber shoes of the same hue. Your hair is styled in a dutch braid, decorating your strands with various pins and ribbons for the aesthetic, and finally, a natural make-up for added radiance. 

You literally see no reason for him to goggle at you, but then again, you can’t and don’t perceive yourself in Jake’s point of view. You’d be shocked if you learned how angelic you are in his world. 

In Jake’s standpoint, the tinge of cerise complements your sublime beauty like no other. It brings out the tincture of your eyes, the carmine of your cheeks, the cherry of your lips and it greatly enhances your flushed complexion. A mermaid you resembled because of your hair, relatively constructing an illusion of enchantment.

That is why he cannot fully fathom why you’re denying his words, simply because Jake is confident about it. He frankly believes that there is no other like you— unparalleled and stellar. 

“Be serious for once.” you say, thwacking his shoulders with a snigger.

Jake frowns, facing you and catching your hand in his, he opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a shrilling voice, one that had you reeling in consternation and abhorrence. 

“Well, well, well. The power couple has revealed themselves.” 

Great, the night is young and it’s already ruined by none other than..

“Chaewon.” Jake utters her name with such revolt, shielding you from her as he protectively shifts you behind him, “What do you want?”

“You wound me.” she places a hand on her chest, faking a sad expression before she wheezes and narrows her overly eye-shadowed eyes in your direction, “Hello again, Y/N. Won’t you come and greet me as well?” 

Your whole body trembles when you hear her call your name in a sweet, sickening manner with an underlying condescending tone. It wreaks havoc in your supposed to be zen state, the rain in your glossy orbs threatens to fall any minute the more the interaction is prolonged. 

Jake senses your dilemma, and he knows that he has to do something, anything to not let this get out of control. He needs to wrap this up asap. 

“Chaewon!” Jake roared, seething and perturbed, “Get out of here while I’m asking nicely.” 

The girl hoots in laughter, obnoxiously even, holding onto her tummy, “You’re hilarious, Jake. Why are you acting like nothing happened between us?” 

Time seemed to come to a pause at her revelation. Surely, that wasn’t what she said, right? 

You must be mistaken because Jake? The boy that you trust the most, the only person who is aware of your trauma towards Chaewon’s wrongdoings.. something transpired between them? 

Your head that is hanging low amidst the whole ordeal tilts to spare the girl a glance, which you shouldn’t have because you have now witnessed the most gut-wrenching sight: Chaewon wearing the white dress that was supposed to be yours. 

She peeks and notices your gaze on her, whirling around to show-off with a haughty smirk, “Pretty isn’t it? I’m really happy that Jake gave this to me.” 

“Jake gave that to you?” you whisper, and like a bat with supersonic hearing, she makes-out what you just said without any problem.

“Yeah!” Chaewon giggles, and she dropped the bomb that exploded all over your conviction and solidarity, “I mean.. From all the nights me and Jake have spent in his bed, I think it’s only natural for him to give me some gifts.” 

Your eyes widened in anguish, meeting Jake’s with resentment. You don’t even need to explain yourself, your betrayed expression articulates all the emotions that are fermenting in your being, spoiling the gaiety and leaving a bad taste in your mouth. 

You bitterly tugged your hand, grimly retiring in this shithole wordlessly. Jake’s pleas were blocked out as the ringing in your ears is too noisy, currently focusing on how excruciating it is to wear your rose tinted glasses.

Seeing in a bird's eye view, the earthquake of indulging in your desires, the red flags; rejecting the clues and signals in place of shooting stars and red roses.

There is nothing wrong with harboring intense, burning feelings for someone. There is nothing wrong about it except…

You choked back a sob as you stood still in the middle of some empty street, covering your mouth with your palm while you used your free arm to hug yourself, a coping mechanism to the either the cold breeze or the icy realization of your own breach of trust.

To the person that you are tied to. The lover whose heart is reserved for you but here you are, cracking his entirety unbeknownst to him. 

Truth to be told, you are apprehensive about the entirety of your solstitial days. You are no doubt in the utopia of cloudy marshmallows and lustrous sequins, such vista is brought to you by your paramore, Jake. 

Your affairs are not accepted by society, deemed illegal by the law and an unforgivable misdeed by the gods. Yet you couldn’t, for the hell of it, deny the fact that you are over the moon, spending time with your revived ardor that you thought had passed away. 

Reflecting on your decisions brings you on a disparaging trip to guilt land, your sins are not reasonable, will never be decipherable but love has always been like that, isn’t it?

Working in mysterious ways, playing with fate and destiny, using cupid as its puppet and people’s heartstrings as marionettes until it cooks up its desired results. 

But must it be so ferocious? 

You are having a meltdown, drowning in these poisonous thoughts when a distant voice clears your smoggy psyche. 

“Y/N!”

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

Jake fumbled. He fucked up. So bad. 

He was motionless for a minute, wide eyed and panicking as the noise around the ongoing celebration helped him block the cringe-y voice of the girl, whose presence if he must say, is irking as hell. 

He watches as your lovely figure walks further away, getting smaller the more distance you put between you, and it’s nauseating. The agony was fucking too much, not foreseeing the events.

He was meant to be with you the entire night. Eating delicious foods from the stalls, winning you a giant teddy bear, watching the grand fireworks whilst he kisses you under the radiance of the natural and artificial stars. 

And whose fault is this? 

Jake turns to the culprit, her innocent facade pissing him off to no end.

“What the fuck, Chaewon? Have you finally lost your marbles? Didn’t I tell you to leave me the fuck alone?!” he yells, his emotional intelligence gone because the mere thought of losing you is not worth the effort of suppressing his anger. 

“What?” she asks, crossing her arms in disdain, “I only came here to say hi and to show the dress.” 

The scene appears to catch the attention of the bystanders around them, and multiple pairs of eyes scrutinize the pair, which is not good for the sake of it all. 

Jake inhales, praying to anyone out there to give him the patience that he’s currently lacking, “How many times do I have to say that I’m not interested in you? We fucked once and I was drunk! That’s the end of the story!” 

“So fucking around with Y/N is better? Have you forgotten that she has a boyfriend? You really want to spend your precious summer with a whore?” she rebuts, and what she labeled you was the last straw. 

He ruthlessly gripped her arms, no caution nor forgiving, “Listen here, you do not call Y/N a whore ever again. She is so much better than you and,” Jake scoffs, eyeing her with disdain, “you do not even come close to her level. So, I would really fucking appreciate it if you zip your shitty mouth, or else I will make your life a living hell.” 

Jake lets her go, clenching his fists and hiding it inside his pockets, glaring at the teary-eyed woman but he certainly does not fucking care. She can bawl her eyes out and spread gossip about him, but he won’t let any disrespect towards you pass. 

He turns around, quickly changing plans as he thinks of ways on how to make things up with you, but before that, he took a shot of belittling the girl, “Now that I see it, that dress is ugly as hell. You can keep that, it's only beautiful if Y/N wears it.” 

Jake then runs off, in a mission to find you. 

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

“Y/N!”

It took you a minute to process what’s happening. One moment you are alone and the next second you’re engulfed in a warm hug. Must be a divine intervention or something, your knight in shining armor coming in at the right time to save you from the sorrows of your own faults. 

You pushed him away rather forcefully, vigorously wiping the remnants of your tears away but Jake has seen it either way. 

He cups your face, mellowly speaking, “Please don’t cry, baby-”

“Stop!” you cried out, placing your hands on his chest to put a tiny gap in the middle, a feeble attempt at refusing his support, “Stop calling me that if you don’t mean it. I-I.. Please, I want to be alone.”

You’re beginning to go into hysterics, sobbing uncontrollably now that you have been slapped by reality. 

“I don’t want you to be alone, and,” Jake steeled himself, not accepting your rejection, “I mean it. You are my baby so please Y/N, let’s talk this out.” 

You shake your head, struggling against his firm hold. The complexity of the whole situation embroiders dark threads in your snowy fabric, commencing the madness in you, and you’re so damn afraid if you’ll be able to surpass this test. 

“Jake, I don’t want to- Please, stop, I can't do this anymore.”

You are too busy wallowing in despair that you failed to notice Jake’s terror stricken guise. All of his brain cells are working overtime to think of something, anything to dissuade your incoming rash verdict about your.. circumstances with him.  

Jake slides his palms onto your shoulders, lowering his forehead down the crook of your neck, shutting his eyes and relaxing for a second. 

It’s now or never.

“You can’t do this anymore while I've been here, doing it ever since.” he mumbles, decibels reaching your ears and it makes you confused.

You stay rooted in your spot, listening to his shallow breaths, “Doing what?” 

“This Y/N.” he lifts his head up, meeting your weeping orbs as his lower lips tremble, wavering and hopeless mien, “I did not pursue Australia for the sole reason of staying here, because I thought that you’d continue college in this town.” 

Wait. You are the reason?

“I wanted to be with you, then I learned that you applied to a university in the city and I was too late. I wasn’t able to go with you because I hesitated. And that was the biggest mistake that I will forever regret.”

Jake didn’t give you the time to butt in, he prattled on and on, explaining and disclosing every bit of information that you have to know.

Chaewon and him did have a history, but he was drunk and was in need of some sort of intimacy because all he did was miss you while you were gone. Yes, shitty excuse but that was the truth. He apologizes hundreds of times for that, verbalizing that he avoids her like the plague after their one time encounter, and that she’s the one who kept on persisting in a relationship with him. 

He doesn’t want to do shit with her and he is willing to spend a lifetime making it up to you if it means that you’ll forgive him. 

You mutter his name in hopes of cutting his reverie to tell him that it’s okay. That he doesn’t need to be unfair to himself and that you also have made an awful blunder yourself. So, you tried again but then he blurted out the words that rewired your verdict.

“Y/N, I love you. I am so fucking in love with you. You inhabit my day, possess my nights and I-”

You finally placed your lips on his, shutting him up for good. You can’t contain your selfishness anymore, and you’re going to hell for it.

“Jake, I understand.” you whisper against his lips, “No more talking. Just kiss me.” 

And he did. A passion filled kiss in the dimly lit middle of the road, and soon enough the two of you are giggling out of your wits, running towards his flat to savor each other beneath the raving moon and stars. 

Ablaze sheets and shushed confessions of affection, lustful chants of pet and nicknames, hot and ponderous breathing. Lips molding, tongues dancing, limbs intertwining — love was made multiple times that night. 

Jake felt his turbulent ambitions being nurtured into a calm sea. 

When he holds your sweaty body close to his after the last of the many rounds of ardent copulation, he pecks the crown of your head, thinking that he’s got you. 

Imagine the bewilderment and fretfulness that he undergoes when the next morning, he wakes up and you’re not by his side. The slot beside him is where you’re meant to be. 

So, why are you not here?

He is like a thundercloud, fixing himself up and taking a dangerous, speedy trip towards your house only to gain the certitude that you have left. 

“Yeah, she came back home during dawn, grabbing her suitcases and catching the earliest train back to the city. She didn’t say anything to us, just that she needs to go back as soon as possible.” Riki clarifies groggily, your brother rubbing his eyes sleepily, overlooking Jake’s fall from grace. 

He thanks the younger and when the door is shut, he’s out. 

He was in a sinking boat the whole fucking time, his white knuckle grip on the handles was useless as he’s the only one dying with it. 

You, his gospel, are once more absent to guide him, and he is left alone to fend for himself. 

Jake enters his car in a daze before laughing to himself, beyond miserable and breaking down. You can’t even be bothered to give him an acrid goodbye. Was he not worth the time? Was he not worth it? 

He slams his hands on the steering wheel, his eyes going over the hidden compartment where the bracelet with your initials sits. Looks like he won’t be able to give you that, no?

“What do we do now, Sim Jaeyun?” 

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

Your sudden disappearance deeply troubled Jake. His gut tells him not to contact you first, listening to his intuitions and twiddled on his thumbs. 

He waited for a call, message, anything to let him know that you have not abandoned him, but not once did he receive one. A complete dissonance and in a flash, the pigments in his face that you have sprayed were drained. 

He prayed for a sign to the deities because he’s tired of waiting, ‘Give me a reason to stop chasing after her.’

And what he asks, he gets. 

One day, when he was rolling around in his bed, stalking your social media, he saw that you updated on instagram. He immediately opened the app, but he was crushed like an insect at what he saw.

It was a photo of you and your boyfriend. Seems like your ‘ice skating prince’ won a tournament, no trophies at hand since his prize is already in his arms— you. 

Jake lies down on his back, his arms covering his eyes and he lets the salty tears that he’s been keeping at bay for the longest time freely stream down. He granted himself the license to cry this time, to have a moment of weakness as he grieves at the newly formed memorabilia of adulation and picturesque remembrance.

You should have at least given him some sort of magnanimity, a heads-up perhaps? 

Yes, it was necessary so he could’ve commenced the digging of the graves. One for his dying gray heart and one for his wilted, parched crimson roses. 

Jake is no stranger of the naked truth, that he was the other guy in the portrait. The snake and not the proprietor but even for a trifling moment, despite the bleak and slim chances, he believed that the silver lining exists. 

He was so sure that the inkling sentiments, skinship, companionship throughout the summer would mean something to you.. If not, then why would you be so cruel to give it to him? Why would you be so heartless to let him think that he could win against someone that is unrivaled when it comes to a space in your heart and life? 

He spilled his booked sentiments, you let him savor you, allowed him to follow you to the depths of nowhere only to pull back at the last minute, leaving him stranded at the end of the cliff. 

So he did what must be done. He jumped in the deep, dark ocean of precariousness. Hoping that at the end of his expedition, a treasure would be waiting for him. 

Jake did find fortune alright; rusted, grotesque, and counterfeit. 

He was a deep-dyed, utter fool. Pathetic at its finest for falling for a person he could never, ever have. 

Indeed, a complete defeat. What was the name of the victor again? Ah, right.

Park Sunghoon. 

taglist:

@deobitifull @dreamiestay @shiningnono @anormieee

[xiao-come-home]

hello !! i hope you are doing good. i am so in love with your boothill hcs, they are well-written 💕

it's fine if you don't want to write this but what if boothill with a s/o who has braces ? it's just went into my mind thinking abt that !!

Hello and thank you very much!! It means a lot 🥺 I hope you like it!

Boothill's probably kinda confused at first - what's that metal thing in your mouth? Moreover, why can't he pull his arm away from it and what are we going to solve it now?

Either way, before you begin explaining, he shushes you and shakes you by your shoulders, "sweet pea! I told ya there's no need to turn yourself into anythin'! I'm perfectly capable of protectin' ya!"

"Boothill, I need braces to straighten my teeth—"

"Oh."

It takes a while for Boothill to fully get used to your braces, but it doesn't bother him at all, he actually thinks it looks very cute on you! He sets up reminding alarms for you to brush your teeth. Would happily accompany you to the dentist appointments too, watching the doctor work with crimson eyes whenever you squeeze his hand harder and whisper some "motherfudger" and "birch" here and there.

Boothill makes sure to cuddle you thoroughly when you get home after your appointments, especially when you're in pain - and actually makes room somewhere in his chest to store painkillers for you.

Boothill's probably googled what foods should be avoided while having braces and stored it somewhere in his memory, so when you try to eat at least popcorn, he goes off like an actual fire alarm and almost makes you spit your heart out in fear (💀).

If you accidentally hurt him during kissing, Boothill will only lick the blood off and smirk at you, "oh, someone's playin' dirty! Good, give me more, pet."

[tamiart]

I wrote a little romance scene between Halsin and Tav, mostly imagining Halsin’s POV.

Summary: Tav is breaking down under the pressure of the enormous task ahead of her, and Halsin happens upon her.

Since I don’t consider myself a writer, I have never tried to write anything like this before. But I love this game so much, and especially when it comes to these two characters, my imagination is continuously running away with me. I need more material with them, so I tried to create some of my own. I hope you like it.

Midnight Solace

Everyone was finishing up their duties in setting up camp. Halsin looked over to see Tav talking to Wyll and Gale, who were arguing about something as they tried to come up with a strategy for some fight or other, which was now an almost daily occurrence. Tav looked worn out, barely listening to the two of them bicker as she studied a map they had drawn in the dirt. The others were always going to her for help with their problems, and by Silvanus did everyone in this group have catastrophic problems. In all his many years, Halsin had never met such a varied, volatile bunch of individuals. They reminded him of his younger years when every mishap, every mistake, felt like the end of the world.

Tav was the most intriguing to him. She couldn’t be half his age, and yet this young, unassuming slip of a girl had gone out of her way, putting aside her own troubles and fears, which must be plentiful though she never voiced them, for weeks throughout their perilous journey to help many along the way, including himself. She was helping him find a way to lift the shadow curse, which had haunted him for a century as his greatest shame and failure. She had risked her life to infiltrate a horde of nasty, treacherous little goblins to free him - a huge, threatening wild bear that could have tried to kill her too for all she knew. But even in his most savage form, she wasn’t afraid of him. 

Halsin had never met anyone like her. He often found himself watching her from across camp as she went about the daily routine that everyone had settled into - helping to prepare their meals, eating, talking and laughing with everyone around the fire, getting ready to go to sleep, preparing to head out in the mornings. He wondered about her as he performed his own duties. He felt himself drawn to her, and realized he was reluctant to leave her side. He was sorely tempted to forsake his druidic duties and stay with her, to be there for her and protect her for as long as she would let him during her quest to save them all. She stirred long-dormant feelings in him. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this way about anyone.

Later that night, after everyone had sought their bedrolls, rest seemed to elude Halsin, so he gave up and headed towards the woods to lose himself in a hunt. As he walked past Tav’s bedroll, he noticed she wasn’t there. He looked around briefly, but did not see her. Slightly alarmed, he enhanced his senses and picked up her scent trail heading into the forest. Wanting to make sure she was alright, he followed it.

As he approached the stream nearby, he heard the sound of someone crying. He stopped and peered through the trees in that direction and saw that it was Tav, sitting by the water, her head resting on her bent knees. He felt a sympathetic pang to see and hear her so distraught. Not wanting to frighten her, he made his footsteps audible as he rounded a bush and approached her, and she started up and noticed him, and immediately turned away to surreptitiously wipe away the traces of her misery. He felt his heart stir.

“Oh, Halsin,” she said, “what are you doing out here so late?”

“I could not sleep,” he responded, “so I was going for a walk. I could ask you the same thing. Are you alright, my friend?”

At that, she failed at reigning in her emotions and burst into sobs once more.

“I’m sorry,” she sputtered through her tears. “I don’t know what’s come over me tonight.”

He hurried over and sat beside her. “It’s alright,” he tried to reassure her. But she could not stop, and he hesitantly reached out to touch her shoulder.

His touch seemed to relax something in her and she leaned towards him. He put his arm around her and held her closer. The feel of her sobs shaking her slight frame melted away his final resistance, and he knew then that he would do anything to help this girl. He was lost to her. He held her until her sobs quieted into sniffles. 

“What is it, my friend? Can I do anything to help?” He asked her gently.

“No, I’ll be okay.” She sighed.”Ugh look at me, I’m such a mess.”

“You are still beautiful. But stay here, I’ll get something for you.” Halsin quietly returned to his tent and found a clean cloth, poured a cup of water and grabbed a blanket as well, then returned to Tav’s side. She had calmed down and sat quietly staring into the stream with a troubled expression on her face. He draped the blanket around her shoulders and handed her the water and cloth.

 “Thank you. I didn’t want anyone to see me like this,” said Tav, wiping her tear-stained face. “They’re all depending on me to be strong. I need to be strong for all of us if we’re going to get through this.” She took a sip of water and put the cup down on a rock.

He placed his arm around her again and pulled her close. “No one expects you to be invincible. You don’t need to carry all of it alone. We’re all here to help you. I’m here to help you.”

She looked up at him, tears glistening in her eyelashes. The distance between them was too close. The urge to kiss her was overpowering, and it took all of his will to resist. She needed him to be strong just now, and he would give her his support.

“Thanks, Halsin,” She closed her eyes and sighed, leaning her head on his shoulder. “That’s nice to hear. I just… I’m so afraid. I don’t know what I’m doing half of the time. Why does every decision have to fall to me? Every time one of us gets injured, I wonder if I should give it all up. Maybe I’m just leading us all to our deaths.” Her voice choked on those last words, and she covered her face with her hands and pulled away from him. “I can’t… that thought… it’s too much to bear.”

“Your fears are completely understandable under the circumstances. We have far too much leveled against us, with no end to our journey in sight. What an incredible amount of pressure to undertake. But Tav, you’ve been amazing thus far. Why do you think everyone trusts you so implicitly? No one else could have gotten this eccentric group of misfits this far, to survive as much as we have. Honestly, I don’t know how you’ve managed it. You don’t realize how extraordinary you truly are. My dear friend, we would all follow you anywhere. I would follow you anywhere. If anyone is going to get us all through this, it’s you.” 

Tav looked up at him again, a new light and curiosity in her glance. “You truly believe that?”

“With all my heart.”

Suddenly she threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. Oak father preserve him, Tav had him wrapped around her finger. “Thanks, Halsin,” she whispered into him. She looked up at him again, and her face finally softened into a smile. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Tav, I - “ he tried to find the right words. “Please know that I’m always here for you, if you ever need to talk about anything. I will do my best to help you, in any way that you need.”

She was still looking up at him, her gaze searching. She was so beautiful, he could hold back no longer. Cautiously, he lowered his face down towards her, watching her expression as he did so. She did not pull away, and her lips parted as her glance fell to his mouth. He closed the distance and pressed his lips to hers. He tasted the salt of her tears as he kissed her, and she kissed him back, tentatively at first, but quickly growing more eager. Her lips were full, soft and warm. Finally they both had to pull away, gasping for air. He had to stop now before he took things too far. He couldn’t ask that much of her just now in her current vulnerable state.

Tav stared at him, stunned. Then as if suddenly realizing where she was, she blushed and gave him a shy, tentative smile. “Wow,” She gasped as she found her voice. “What was that?”

“I’ve dreamed about kissing you for a long time,” he confessed to her.

“Really? But I didn’t… I thought… you’ve never…” Tav stammered.

“I know. I didn’t want to do anything to upset you or harm our friendship. And I didn’t want to distract you during such a crucial and difficult time. I’ve been trying to keep my distance, to let you focus.”

Tave let out a breathy laugh. “Well, it’s a very welcome distraction.” She hesitated, then looked up at him shyly once more. “I’ve been thinking about that as well, with you.”

He wrapped her in his arms once more and held her in silence. They sat together, listening to the night sounds of the forest and the babble of the nearby stream. Gradually, he felt her relax in his arms. Her head began to droop against his shoulder. He could have stayed this way all night. But reluctantly, he gently shook her awake.

“You should try to get some sleep,” he told her. “Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”

She sighed. “You’re right.” She stood up and handed the blanket back to him. She tried to return the cloth as well, but he told her to keep it. She seemed reluctant to go. “Thank you, Halsin. This was… it means a lot.” She smiled at him once more.

And she was gone before he could respond, leaving him alone once more in the woods, the blanket in his arms, all of his senses full of her, and his mind a whirl of thoughts, emotions and desires.

[yearningaces]

Oh Nyx. So small, so cute, so fragile. One flick of the wrist and he just might break.

So precious, so breakable.

And he almost revels in this idea, curled up in your arms, just a wee thing. Brown and white ears and fluffy tail twitching occasionally in his sleep. His back legs more akin to fur covered paws kicking in his slunber just lightly.

His little nose twinges slightly as his movements increase in his sleep, eyes squeezing shut, heart racing

And he's startled awake. Sitting straight up in the dark cold room of his family's burrow. Relaxation comes slowly when he can only see so far in the dark, but his ears are perked up and he hears his family he'd come to visit with his partner... Speaking of partners, why can't he hear his lovely human-

Nyx feels his heart drop as he turns to find you wide awake, watching him with dilated eyes that can see far more in this dark. He can see the light reflecting off of your eyes just enough to know you're there. You can see him entirely. He didn't even hear you and you're almost on top of him. The bunny boy has to steady his breathing and force himself to relax, his sweet human is a predator, but a nice predator... To him at least.

"Are you alright?" Your voice seems to break your silent trance as you lean closer, sitting up and easily dwarfing him in size.

Nyx easily hops onto your lap, ears tucked back against his head as his arms try to wrap around you with... Some success. "Yeah, yes. Dreamt a fox was chasing me." Hardly a predator in comparison to the one he'd fallen into the arms of just now.

You can so easily lift him up, and just hold him in your arms, cradled to your chest with care as you lay back. "A fox, hm?" Your tone seems contemplative to the bunny boy. He can only imagine what you'll say next but certainly isn't expecting- "Pesky vermin. I've chased some of them away from my trash before. They won't get close to you."

Nyx feels a twinge of something creeping up his spine. You so easily mention chasing away the sort of predator that would haunt a creature like him. And you say it as if it's nothing. There's no question of if you'd do so again. Just a silent vow that he'll be safe. And something easy enough for you to swear that you seem so relaxed about it, stroking his back, soothing his nerves how you do best.

By being the scariest predator he's ever met, and loving him.

"You mean it?" His voice is uncharacteristically quiet in the dark, trying not to wake his family, wondering just how he woke you originally, especially without even realizing it.

Nyx can feel your grip tighten just slightly, though he can see your muscles are still relaxed in your arm, he's left amazed by how strong the grasp is. No doubt if you used your full strength he'd be carried away with more than one splintered rib. But you're careful, you're gentle. Not by nature, but by choice. And somehow that's far more chilling.

Because when you don't want to be gentle, when something has him nervous and seeking your comfort? You're gentle demeanor fades just enough to remind him that he's so very lucky his human loves him, and he is very lucky to have such a predators affections.

Your voice is a low grumble as you respond to his question, a sound that sets the alarms in his head on high alert. "Killing any animal is easy, especially if it gets close enough on its own. I just need one good shot at it, and I'll have free meat to store in the freezer, maybe a nice fur to craft with as well."

Right. Carnivore. "Why keep the pelt?" Nyx questions softly, trying to find a more soothing conversation to sleep to. The answer is...

"I like fur. Humans don't have any, it's also why I like petting your ears all the time. They're so soft, you're so precious, I could just eat you up. But then you wouldn't be here to be all affectionate and talk with me. So I'll keep eating whatever I hunt or buy, and keep a few pelts to either craft with or sell."

Your answer seems so casual to you. To Nyx he's feeling multiple things, but above it all pride. His partner, his lovely mate is such a capable predator and keeps him so safe.

After a moment he snuggles closer, nuzzling into your warmth with a content sigh, feeling safer already. With his face pressed into your collarbone he can easily press a few small kisses across the exposed skin. His own delight grows once Nyx feels you lean down to press your lips against his forehead so sweetly.

Nyx settles into your bigger form, relaxing against the softness and firmness as you cover yourself and him up with the blanket once more to settle back to sleep. Not releasing him all the while. Good. He prefers it this way.

So in a way, he relishes in how scary his human is. How strong you are, compared to him and his kind. He loves feeling your gentle grasp- knowing you're choosing to be gentle because you love him. And also that if you didn't care his poor little self would be in so much danger.

It really proves that you love him so much, and that he trust you sooo much

So hold him a little closer, maybe even a little tighter? He won't break, he knows you won't break him.

Even if it would be just so easy

[huffelpuff210]

His Obsession

His Obsession 

Chapter 1

:Jordan didn’t exactly know what she was getting into when she accidentally bumped into Bucky Barnes aka The king of New York the boss of the Mafia 

Warning:Stalking, kidnapping, Forced relationship, Forced Marriage, NonCon.

You were running down the street bumping into people every now and again. 

“Excuse me. Sorry.” You say as you continue to run

You were running late. You are a RN in the Emergency room. Working sometimes double even triple shifts. Not really having a personal life, Always working and if you weren’t working you were home sleeping. 

You turn the corner only to be knocked off you’re feet, about to fall on you’re ass. 

But you were quickly caught by the wrist and quickly pulled to you’re feet. 

“Sorry about that.” You hear 

You look up and see a man in a black suit. Rings on his left hand. Tattoo on the top of his left hand and it loos like it goes up his arm the way it disappears from the sleeves of his suit. 

He had dark hair that was almost shoulder length and icy blue eyes. 

“Oh no I’m sorry I wasn’t watching where I was going.” You say as you smile at him. 

You’re watch beeps. 

“Oh sugar plumbs I’m late! Sorry I have to go thank you for saving me from a nasty fall.” You say as you run down the street. 

Bucky watches as you disappear in the crowd of people A smirk on his face. He didn’t think there was anyone in this city that could smile at him like that. Most people take one look at him and shiver in fear. It did something to him, You’re long dark hair and Jade green eyes that reminded him of freshly cut grass, 

He didn’t fail to notice You’re name tag, Jordan Cross He smirked 

“I’ll be seeing you real soon doll.” He smirked 

He pulls out his phone hitting the contact number. 

“Natasha I need you to find an address for me.Jordan Cross She works at Mercy Hospital” He says 

“Okay, Text it to me when you find it.” He says hanging up the phone

He smirked knowing that he just found the one person that wasn’t aware of who he was or the profession he was in. 

It didn’t take long to locate you’re apartment, And it didn’t take much effort to get the key from the manager, All he had to do was give him a look. Which was very concerning. As he looked around you’re house he noticed there wasn’t much. No picture’s on the walls. The fridge and cabinets were empty. A TV and love seat in the main room, A a queen size bed in the bedroom. 

“Seems pretty basic.” Steve says as they look around

“But no personality to it.” Nat says 

“Start hiding the cameras.” Bucky says everyone nods 

You were dead tired after working a double shift. All you wanted to do was shower and sleep screw eating it was way too much work. 

You unlock you’re door shuffling to the bathroom stripping you’re scrubs off and jumping in the shower for a much needed shower. 

After you’re quick shower you dress into a pair of plaid black and white shorts and you’re old collage jersey. Flopping on the bed without covering up you just fall into a deep sleep. But unknown to you, Bucky stood over you, His knuckles brushing against you’re cheek. 

“Soon doll. Soon You’ll be mine.” He whispers with a small smile on his face.

The next day you were running late again, Rushing out the door, and running down the streets to the hospital, You always end up shutting you’re alarm off to get a little extra sleep, You’re boss doesn’t ever give you a day off or ever cut you any slack when you are late he retaliates by making you work a double shift, He’s a complete tool in you’re eyes anyway, Bucky watched as you ran past the many people on the side walk bumping into a few on the way. He smiled knowing he was going to bide his time to set his plan into motion, He had been waiting to find someone like you for a very long time and He knew that you were a hard working woman who barley had a social or private life because of you’re job. From what he dug up on you you’re mother died when you were only five years old leaving you to be raised by you’re step father. In and out of the hospital a lot with mysterious injuries broken arm, cracked ribs, broken tail bone, the list went on and on it’s no mystery what was going on, You left for collage at the age of eighteen, graduating not long after. went for you’re clinical at the same hospital you currently work at now. Never had a vacation or personal day. This was a bit concerning for Bucky you didn’t have a life, all you did was work and sleep, hell you barley had any food in you’re apartment. He knew tonight he was going to take you away from this life, that you were going to have a better life with him and his men. You wouldn’t have to work hard just to get by anymore he was going to make sure of that if it was the last thing he did. He smiled and walked towards you’re apartment. 

He made himself comfortable sitting in you’re love seat in the main room and waited 

You sighed grabbing you’re purse and walking out of the hospital Eric you’re boss made you work a triple shift you were exhausted, You have a bruise on you’re bicep from him grabbing you when he called you to his office when you were late today. He said one more time and you are fired. What does he expect you work double sometimes triple shifts then he expects you to come in the same day after only a few hours of sleep. 

You unlock you’re apartment door, closing it behind you setting you’re purse on the counter. When a hand covers you��re mouth. 

“You’re late doll.” You hear from behind you. 

You try to struggle but the intruder was too strong you feel a prick in you’re neck and you can feel yourself getting weak and tired 

“Don’t worry doll you’ll be home soon.” Was the last thing you hear before falling into a deep slumber.

[anonymous-rendezvous]

The Sun’s Embrace

💖🖤❤️ Doppio/Hex/Ver x GN!Reader

✦ — Written by Mod S 👿. Beta Read and Edited by Mod I ✨.

✧ — Contains: Established Poly Relationship [Doppio/Hex/Ver], getting together, light angst, panic attack, comfort, & fluff

✦ — Word count: 4.5k | Ao3

The boys have started to notice that you’ve been avoiding them, and they have no idea why. Deciding it's time to take matters into their own hands, Doppio suggests a plan of attack. After all, there’s no way this could end badly. Right? Based on the sentence prompt - “Can I hug you?”

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

Standing at your dorm door, one hand tightly clutches at the strap of your bag while the other hovers over the doorknob. “Okay, I can do this.” The statement mumbled, a sort of pep talk as your weight shifted from one foot to the other. “Just do the normal greetings, don’t make eye contact, and make it to the front door.” You didn’t need to glance at the time to know that there was already a high chance the rest of the council members were awake and hanging around in the common room. Hence your panic. ‘I knew I should’ve set another alarm.’ You think, cursing yourself with a groan.

Taking another deep breath to steel your nerves, you throw the door open and rush down the hallway, head faced forward with one goal in mind; interact as little as possible. Upon entering the common room, the scent of coffee and breakfast hits you like a truck. That seems to be all your stomach needs to remind you that eating food is important, growling loudly as if to alert the entire dorm of your presence; causing you to grumble. The room's occupants turn, finding you standing awkwardly in the hall entrance. ‘Well, there goes leaving unnoticed.’

Your attention is drawn to Meloco as she giggles. As she leans against the island of the kitchen, she waves you over. “Well, someone’s hungry! Come on, we have plenty of food here. Well, unless you want donuts.” She looks at the council president from the corner of her eyes. “Ver's pretty much eaten most of those.” She laughs as Ver turns to glare at her, returning it with a small smirk. You hesitate for a moment, however, seeing as only Kotoka and Meloco are currently making themselves some food, you enter the kitchen.

“Ah, I think I’ll just take a wrap. Not feeling like a full-course breakfast today.”

Kotoka pipes up as she hears you and happily walks over to you. “Oh, I’m eating one too! Here I grabbed one for later, but you can have this one. I’ll just take a different one.” After giving her a brief thanks, you make your way to the fridge and grab a water, subtly taking a peek at the other three members. Ver is sitting on the couch enjoying a cup of coffee as he talks to Hex, who is enjoying some tea. ‘ Good, ’ you think to yourself, ‘ they’re in the same spot. ’ After staring for probably a bit too long at the pair, you close the fridge and look around for Doppio. Your eyes scan the room until you find him at the dining table, devouring his breakfast; not at all waiting for the girls that are going to sit with him.

You can’t help the fond chuckle that slips from your lips as you slide the bottled water into your bag. Once that's put away, you start opening your wrap while edging your way back out of the kitchen. “Okay, well, I gotta get going now. I’ll see you all later!” You make a rush for the door, causing everyone to startle; heads tilting simultaneously in confusion. In such a hurry you don’t see Ver quickly stand from the couch and try to make his way to you.

“Woah wait,” he hurriedly speaks up, hand reaching out in an attempt to try to slow you. “I wanted to discuss something with you today. We still have a fair amount of time before classes, so why don’t you sta–” He’s unable to even finish his sentence before you cut him off, the door already half-open in front of you.

“Ah, sorry, Kaichou, really gotta go. Okay, bye!” Your words are a rush as the door is quickly shut behind you. Ver stands there bewildered as he’s left staring at the door for a few seconds, processing what the hell just happened. He only regains his composure when Kotoka's voice suddenly breaks the silence, turning to look in her direction.

“Wonder what they're in such a hurry for.” The half-blonde pouts in thought before gasping, “I wonder if they have a date!” She turns towards the other, a beaming smile on her face. “Why else would they be in such a hurry?”

Ver feels a ghost of a frown cross his lips at the suggestion. However, Hex interjects before he’s able to turn down her suggestion, raising a hand in a calming motion. “Come now, Koto, let’s not jump to conclusions. They could be going to ask a professor about a class or maybe it’s something to do with family. There are many other reasons for them to be in such a hurry.”

“Ah well, I guess you’re right. It’d be exciting if it was true, though!” She laughs as she makes her way to the table with Meloco, the girls claiming the open seats across from Doppio.

“I think you just want a reason to fawn over them, Koto,” Meloco takes a sip from her coffee, then gives her a sly smile. “You’d just fangirl over watching them be all lovey-dovey like watching a Shoujo.”

Kotoka pouts, ready to object, but is interrupted by Doppio joining the conversation. “Ohhh right! That would explain all the manga I see in your room with the people kissing on the cover.”

“Doppio!” Kotoka screeches at him from across the table, trying to reach over to hit him as he just cackles from his seat, leaning back to make sure she can’t reach him.

Ver and Hex watch on, shaking their heads affectionately. Though Hex notices the hint of melancholy on Ver’s face, standing from the couch to talk to him. Reaching a hand out, he gently cups the small of the shorter man's back, the council president's eyes shifting to meet his. Leaning forward, Hex keeps his voice low as he whispers in the other's ear, “What’s wrong? Worried about them?”

Ver sighs and crosses his arms, turning his body slightly towards the other while lowering his voice as well. “How can I not be? I’m sure you’ve noticed it too... They’ve been avoiding us for weeks, Hex. And it’s only been the two of us and Doppio. They seem fine with the girls…”

Hex adjusts his glasses, silent for a moment before he responds. “I’ve noticed it too… I can’t think of anything we’ve done wrong. And even if there was, I’d like to believe they'd tell us… The past few weeks have been the same as always, so what’s changed?” Silence hangs between them as Ver thinks it over, recalling the past few weeks in his mind; not able to pinpoint a single clue that could help them. They’re so lost in thought they almost don’t notice Doppio joining them, Kotoka and Meloco having already left for class.

He looks between them both before questioning, “What’s wrong? You both look like you're thinking hard about something. Is it what we talked about last week?” Their pair of eyes look up at Doppio as he speaks, and Hex is quick to answer him.

“Ah, no no, I think that’s been settled between all of us Dopi.” He gives the taller man a smile before continuing; expression becoming sullen. “We’re worried about what happened earlier, you know, with…”

Doppio’s eyes blink open in recognition, putting his hands on his hips. “Ohhh yeah, what was that about? Do either of you know what’s with them avoiding me recently? They’ve stopped showing up to our weekly game nights!” He pouts, and he drops his head, sulking to himself.

“Okay, good, so you’ve noticed it as well. They’ve been doing it to all three of us then. We need a plan to handle this quickly before things spiral. This isn’t just bad for the council… but for our friendship with them as well.” Ver sighs once again, bringing a hand up to his mouth in thought.

“Actually, I think I have an idea…” Doppio pulls them both into a huddle, explaining his idea to them. Exchanging looks of confusion as the trio talks it out, but eventually, they agree to set the plans in motion. They agree to message if anything came up. They parted ways, heading to their own classes. Though not before Hex presses a kiss to each boys’ temples.

Feeling a little lighter than before, Ver waves them off with a smile. ‘ Let’s just hope that they're willing to cooperate even a little, or else it could all go out the window. ’ He thinks, sighing as the smile slips from his face. Now all they need to do is wait.

Really, that’s all they can do.

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

Time passes as your day goes on. It’d be just like any other if you weren’t constantly watching out for the trio anytime they pass you in the hall. Every time you saw them, you’d panic and immediately take cover, trying to calm your racing heart. Ducking behind arches on campus. Sliding into the nearest bathroom until they walked away. Whatever it took to avoid running into them. You hated it. Hated having to avoid them ever since this stupid crush had started brewing in your heart; making you avoid your friends. You’d been content for a long time just being their friend, so why did your stupid feeling decide to spring this on you? Especially for three people!

Letting out a big sigh, your shoulders sag as you wearily tug open the council building's doors, making it back after your last class. Planning to get some work done before passing out, you slide your jacket off and hang it on the coat rack before taking off your shoes, remembering to shut the door behind you. After setting your shoes aside, you take a sweep around the common room – almost sighing in relief when you don’t spot anyone else. Moving further in, you can’t help but notice just how quiet the building is. There’s a chance everyone is still wondering about campus, or maybe a mission suddenly sprung up. The thought helps to ease your tension, heading toward your room. However, just as you’re about to reach out for the doorknob, three tall figures suddenly slide in front of it, startling you as they block you from the safety of your room.

“Ah! What the hell, guys? You can’t just come out of nowhere–” Suddenly, Hex and Doppio are on either side of you, hooking their arms beneath yours and lifting you up. “Wait, what are you doing? Gu–guys? Guys?! Where are we going?” None of them grant you an answer, continuing to carry your struggling body, feet kicking in protest as Ver leads the way toward his room. As though they’ve practiced this before, Kaichou swiftly opens his door and holds it open as the other two pull you into his mini-apartment with ease. The door shuts with a thump, and you're only released when the lock clicks into place.

Both Hex and Doppio take a step back as you scramble to stand straight, turning on your heel to scold them. “What the fuck, guys? Is this some sort of prank? What is Doppio paying you two?” You squint between Hex and Ver. It’s unnerving, however, when they return your gaze with serious expressions. Your arms subconsciously wrap around yourself in comfort, voice cracking as you ask, “Ummm, what's going on he–” 

“Don’t act like you don’t know.” Ver steps closer to you, which causes you to step back. He notices, making no further effort to close the distance; subconsciously softening his expression. Looking at Hex and Doppio behind him, they give him subtle nods, and he continues. Locking eyes with you, he asks, “You’ve been avoiding us, haven’t you?” You break eye contact first, seemingly finding the wall behind him to be much more interesting. Ver lets out a heavy sigh as he rubs his temple. “Listen, if we’ve done something wrong, you need to tell us. Because we have no idea, and being avoided like this isn’t gonna solve the problem…”

Hands clenched at your sides, biting down harder on your lip with each of his words, still unable to look at him. You can’t bring yourself to look at any of them. In truth, you’d known it was only a matter of time until they confronted you. It was unavoidable. Though you wish you could have had more time to prepare.

The silence stretches on. Hex lets out a long breath, crossing his arms over his chest, ready to break this standstill – however, you beat him to the punch. “You–” Your throat feels tight, having to force the words out as you try to remember to breathe, “None of you have done anything wrong…” 

“Then why have you been avoiding us, darling?” Hex inquires, taking a step forward to stand beside Ver. If you had taken even a small glance at him, you might have seen the worry etched deep into his expression.

The pet name causes your heart to ache, hands moving to clutch at your shirt tightly; almost too tightly. “Be–because…” Frustration builds in your throat as you try to find the proper way to put this. Except, everything you think of just results in you outing yourself. Exposing your crush. Swallowing hard, you close your eyes tightly. It's hard to think over the sound of blood rushing in your ears - your heart pounding. The feelings you thought you could keep quiet bubble up until there’s no choice left but to let them spill out. “Because I’ve been dealing with these stupid feelings for you all, and I hate it! If I just– I thought if I just avoided you all, they’d go away, eventually. They’d have to, right? And–and then everything could go back to normal…” People say telling the truth can make you feel lighter, and yet it feels as though it’s dragged you down further. There’s a knot in your stomach, and the tightness in your throat grows worse; making it hard to breathe. Hell, just knowing you're in Ver’s room makes you feel sick. Standing in the middle of his space, encircled by his things – by him – makes these feelings worse.

Dreading what you think is to come next; the rejection, the scolding, the disgust. Even in your best-case scenario of one of them liking you, the one that does gets mad that your feelings are split. Not trusting you in the process. The anxiety makes you feel small, the knot in your stomach twisting– making you feel like you're going to puke, breathing heavy and shallow.

You’re so lost in your own head you can’t hear them calling your name in a panic. Reality rushing back to you as you register a warmth on your back. Your eyes open – when had you closed them? – except everything seems blurred. Raising a hand to rub blurriness away, it’s only then do you realize it’s because of tears. It takes a moment longer for you to realize you're crouched on the floor and a hand is running soothing circles over your back. Rubbing away what’s left of the tears, you take a deep, albeit shaky breath before looking towards the source of the comforting touch. Doppio is kneeling on the floor beside you, the Duke of Discipline likely having reached you first, but with a glance, you find Hex and Ver close by.

“Wha–” You have to cut your words off with a cough, trying to clear the uncomfortable feeling in your throat. “What happened?” The question had more so been directed at yourself because, really; ‘Tell me I didn’t just have a panic attack over losing them in front of them.’

“Well,” Doppio starts, “you were telling us about your feelings before going quiet. Your breathing had already seemed off, but then you started hyperventilating and practically caved in on yourself. Really scared us there. We thought you were gonna pass out.” The entire time he explains, Doppio keeps rubbing your back, the feel of his touch comforting. A bit too comforting for your complicated emotions right now, honestly. “Hex wanted to use his powers on you, but Ver said it might just make you panic again afterward. But I didn’t want to just leave you alone, so I thought some nice back rubs could help! Is it helping?” His head tilts in such an endearing way that you can’t stop your affection for him from growing stronger.

“Can… I hug you ?” The words slip past your lips without you thinking before quickly covering your mouth. What you hadn’t expected, however, is how suddenly you’re engulfed by Doppio’s arms; zero hesitation as he pulls you against his chest. Your hands shift from your mouth to his jacket, ready to push him away and explain yourself, except– you can’t bring yourself to. No, you don’t want to. Not when it feels so nice. Not when he smells so sweet and like home. Your heart pounds somehow faster when he rests his cheek on the top of your head, holding you tightly. Being so caught up in the hug, you almost miss the other two talking, something about water and finding a blanket; you don’t really catch all of it. Lost in your own world within the comfort of Doppio's arms.

By the time the pair have reappeared, your breathing has steadied, and you feel much calmer than you had before. Except… you still have emotions to deal with, and with every interaction you’ve had the past few minutes, it’s only made them worse. You practically feel the heat radiating off your face, palms sweaty as Doppio slowly lets you go, a rare sweet smile on his face as he looks at you. Embarrassed, you swivel your head away, looking up at Ver as you hear him approach and offer you a hand.

“Come on, let’s move outta my entryway. I think the living room would be more comfortable than sitting on the floor.” Taking his hand, he helps you up with ease, offering you a glass of water once you're steady. You quietly thank him before taking a big sip, the three leading you to the couch. It’s not a long walk to his living room and when you take your spot on the couch, you feel something being draped over you. Looking down, you realize it’s a blanket. One hand reaches up to brush against the soft fabric, while the other clutches at the cup of water in your lap. The couch dips beside you, and naturally, you turn your head to find Hex taking claim to one spot next to you. He’s sitting in such proximity to you, his thigh practically touches yours, his body angled in your direction.

Jerking your head back down, you stare at the water in the cup, trying not to acknowledge the closeness. This gives you a chance to see Doppio settle himself on the coffee table in front of you, not offering many places for you to look other than at your lap. Lucky for you, Ver speaks up, sitting on the other side of you; thankfully, at a more respectable distance.

“There we go. This is much better, right?” He watches the way you nod stiffly. The council president’s gaze softens as he watches you and speaks even softer as he places a hand on your back; replicating what Doppio was doing earlier. “Listen, we aren’t mad or upset at you for the way you're feeling. It’s okay to feel things and sometimes emotions change over time. That doesn’t make them bad, it just means that – in this case – you’ve found yourself more comfortable with us, right?” Ver chuckles, endeared as he watches the way you turn to look at him; shocked eyes locking with calm, muted magenta.

Shaking your head, your gaze shifts back down before returning to him, expression pensive. “Ar–are you sure? I mean it’s…” You pause, swallowing hard. “It’s not just feelings for one of you, it’s all three of you. Won’t that complicate things?”

Doppio laughs, quickly drawing your attention to him. “No, not at all! This works out perfectly for us. It's a win!”

“... Huh?” You tilt your head, looking at him with utter confusion.

“Well,” Hex finally speaks up from the other side of you, drawing your attention to him now, “he could have said it better, but we’ve actually been discussing our feelings for you and each other for a few months now, darling.” He chuckles, placing a hand lightly on your knee. “We all came to an agreement that if you liked us too, we’d share or even officially get together. We’ve been careful to keep it private for the past few weeks. Didn't need people butting in and asking questions when we didn’t even know if you liked us or not. I mean, we wanted you to be a part of us from the very start…” 

Blinking a couple of times, you can’t help but stare off into space, completely baffled by this new information. Once you give it a moment, you gather enough of your senses back to speak. “Wait, wait …” Your head twists around, looking towards each of them before settling back on the therapist beside you. “So all this time that I’ve been avoiding you, the three of you have discussed this? And… and you like me back?” 

“I’d even go so far and say ‘I love you’, but Ver told me to save that.” Hex laughs as he watches you get immensely flustered, sputtering out your words. Ver, reaching around you, lightly hits him on the arm and gives the taller man a soft glare. 

“Well, so much for ‘ saving ’ that…” He sighs before leaning a bit closer to get your attention, moving his hand to your shoulder. “But yes, we all like you. Though, even if we didn’t, there was no need to be so scared about talking to us about it. I might be the council president, but I am also your friend. I’m sure the other two feel the same as well.” He looks to Hex and Doppio for confirmation, and both nod in agreement.

Seeing that, you can’t help but huff, shoulders relaxing a bit. “I guess… I guess I over-complicated it by avoiding it, didn’t I?” The trio nods in unison, causing you to let out a bigger huff. “Well shit, what else is new…” Taking a deep breath, you set your water down on the coffee table, careful not to set it too close to Doppio. You look at Hex’s hand on your thigh and Ver’s hand on your shoulder before gazing at Doppio, who’s sitting in front of you. Taking in the fact you have three new boyfriends now, you pat the hands that are on you, looking around at the trio. “This is definitely a surprise, but I… I’m glad that it worked out so well. I feel really bad for avoiding you all for so long, though, so I’ll have to find some way to make it up to you.”

“Hehehe~” The three of you hear Doppio let out a mischievous giggle, which instinctively makes you nervous. “I can think of a few ways, but I think I got the perfect idea for this specific scenario!” He scoots to the edge of the coffee table, leaning forward so he’s just inches from your face.

“U–uh,” You slightly panicked, looking to the other two for help. Bad idea. The pair – who had quickly picked up on the duke’s idea – decide to play along, leaning their faces closer to you as well. You don’t know whether the heat you feel is the blood rushing to your face or their breath fanning across your skin, quickly looking between them as you plead. “Gu–guys, come on. No need to get so hasty! I can, umm, do chores for you? Or maybe, uh, laundry! I know nobody likes doing laundry!”

“Aww look, our baby’s getting all embarrassed.” You glare as Hex teases you further, his words dripping with honey, as his thumb draws circles along the side of your knee. “What? Don’t want kisses from your new boyfriends?”

You pout in response. “No, no, I do. I mean, um, fuck– I just–” Your mind spins as your heartbeat pound in your ears, hands gripping at the fabric on your thighs. They don’t give you time to think, taking your words as consent as they move closer; lips colliding with your skin. Doppio reaches his hands forward, placing one on your knee opposite Hex’s hand, and the other grips the therapist’s arm as he places a chaste kiss on your lips. Ver and Hex – seeing as your lips are occupied – kiss your cheeks. Ver’s are feather-light and slow, whereas Hex’s are a bit more forceful and quick. You feel nearly overwhelmed by all the sudden affection. The only thing you're able to muster is kissing Doppio back, puckering your lips every time he briefly pulls back. You can feel how he smiles against your lips, giggling as he fulfills your silent requests.

A few minutes pass of them just showering you with kisses, and when they deem they’ve had sufficient payment, they pull back; smiling as they’ve left you in a different kind of daze now. You wonder if this is how the Pokemon Spinda feels, tottering about. The men can’t help but laugh, completely endeared as Hex snakes his arm around your waist to keep you steady, as you recollect yourself. 

Placing a hand on your chest, you take slow deep breaths before asking, “I’m gonna have to get used to that, aren’t I?” 

“Mhm! Let’s see you avoided us for…” Doppio starts counting on his fingers before shooting you another mischievous smile. “A week and a half? So we have a fair bit to make up for.” You let out a nervous yet amused sigh as Doppio makes this arrangement in front of you, knowing that you can’t argue your way out of the hole you’ve dug yourself.

‘Oh boy, I’m really in for it now, aren’t I?’

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

Bonus added by Mod I ✨ as a funny hehe haha:

The four of you have ended up in a cuddle pile, barely fitting all together on Ver’s couch. Said man suddenly stiffens against you. You shoot him a curious glance as he pulls back enough to glare at the counselor beside you. “Hex?”

“Yes, dear?” He smoothly replies.

“Is that your hand on my butt?” You have to smack a hand over your mouth to stifle a laugh.

“It’s an accident.”

“...........It’s still on my butt, Hex.” The glare on the council president’s face is dark. However, Hex just smiles sweetly back.

“It’s still an accident.”

“Hey no fair!” Doppio whines, sliding his hand down beside Hex’s. “If Hex gets a handful of Kaichou, I want one, too.”

“Get out.”

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

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[tiedyeflannels]

Converse High

Min Yoongi x reader

Word count: 3k

Masterlist

A/N: Hi! Not sure what to put here, but I did want to thank @maple-leaves-in-the-wind for kind of helping me with the plot. Love ya <3 Anyway, I hope you enjoy this fic!

"This song was actually inspired by someone that Suga met one day at a convenience store,” Namjoon said.

The boys were doing some promotion of their new album The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt. 1 at a radio station, when one of the hosts asked what made them come up with lyrics in ‘Converse High’.

“Yeah, I went to a convenience store near our dorm late at night because I was hungry and wanted something to eat, so I bought some ramen. There was this girl wearing red high tops, heating up her food, but the other microwaves were out of order so I had to wait until she was done so I could heat up mine. She must’ve known that I was behind her waiting because she asked if I wanted her to heat mine up too since she was already there,” he laughed at the memory.

He continued, “She was really cool and even gave me her secret ramen recipe that tasted really good.”

“So, thank you Suga’s mystery girl, for inspiring him and the hyungs to write this song,” Jimin said, looking into the camera.

“Did you ever get her name, hyung,” Namjoon asked, turning over to Yoongi. 

Yoongi thought for a moment, then chuckled. “You know, I don’t think I ever thought to ask.”

~

Why did this have to happen today?

I internally kicked myself for not realizing what we were supposed to be doing today. I continued to run through the park, dodging random passersby and the occasional low hanging tree branch before I made it to where the rest of the crew was set up.

The boys were filming a RUN BTS episode today that we were supposed to come early to help set up, but thanks to my faulty alarm and the fact that I didn’t have it on my schedule because we were constantly reminded of it, I totally forgot.

I eventually set my stuff down and quietly walked over to Yumi and started to take out my camera.

“What happened? Why are you so late,” she whispered, not wanting to have the camera pick it up even though we weren’t the ones who were wearing mic packs.

“Everyone thought you were dealing with a hangover for how late you are!”

“I know,” I whispered back, making sure my camera was in working condition. “But one, everyone should know that I rarely drink and two, I didn’t think that I needed to put it on my schedule because we were constantly getting reminded of it, but I guess I was wrong.” 

I snapped a couple of test pictures of the boys to make sure that everything was working fine before looking over a Yumi.

“Why didn’t you set an alarm, I literally texted you about this last night so you didn’t forget,” she deadpanned.

“I did set an alarm, but it didn’t go off so I guess I got to sleep in,” I quietly chuckled, scratching the back of my neck. 

Yumi smiled and shook her head, “You, my dear, are going to get in so much trouble.”

I groaned, “Please don’t remind me. I’m still trying to get over the lecture the director gave me last time I was late to a RUN shoot.”

~

I really need to start putting things in my schedule. Not only did I receive a massive lecture from the director telling me how irresponsible I was, I didn’t get to eat any of the snacks that were laid out for staff as punishment for not helping. 

It didn’t help that I didn’t get anything to eat on the way out of my house because I was too focused on making it here at a reasonable time, so I was basically running on nothing and the snacks were looking REALLY good right now, but as my stomach growled I sighed and walked away, not wanting to torture myself anymore.

“Alright everyone, let’s get back to filming,” the director said, looking around to make sure everyone was ready.

Since we were filming this RUN BTS episode at a carnival, everyone got their own camera person and because of that, the rest of the crew- including Yumi and I- got to roam around and take pictures.

“So, we get to do whatever,” Hobi excitedly asked.

The director nodded and the boys started cheering. Their little celebration was cut a little short when the director spoke up.

“But, this is still a competition and there is a spy. You guys are going to have to figure out who the spy is by the end of the day in order to win, if you don’t, then the spy will win.” 

The guys simultaneously groaned and then started eyeing each other. The director continued to explain some of the rules, stating that everyone will be playing the games as normal.

“With that being said, you are free to do whatever you please.”

The guys made a run for any games they can get to the fastest. A couple of them went to the same game and started yelling at each other to go to a different game. The staff chuckled at their competitiveness, then started to part ways to record each of the boys.

~

Recording lasted about 3 hours and it was safe to say… I’m about ready to pass out.

Half way through the shoot, I had bought some mini donuts, but it was not filling and it made me feel a bit sluggish. Shooting had concluded and revealed Jungkook as the spy, much to everyone’s surprise and then the crew wrapped up. 

We were told that the carnival would be open for staff and the members if they wanted to go around and spend time together. Naturally, when we were told that, I immediately thought about leaving to find the nearest convenience store for some kind of food, but Yumi had to pull me from my thoughts. 

“Y/n! We should go play something! How about darts,” she asked as she started tugging me over to the stall.

I groaned.

“No, I’m really hungry and nothing here is filling. I’ve got to get something in me before I, either, die of starvation or simply pass out from low blood sugar,” I said as I tried to get out of her grasp.

She sighed, letting go of my hand and placing them out her hips. “Come on Y/n, just play one game with me and then I’ll let you go. You never know when you’re gonna get to go to the carnival again.”

I mirrored her actions and put my hand on my hips. “First of all, this carnival is going to be open tomorrow too, so we can go then,” I said, and she nodded in acknowledgement, “and second, you can get someone else to play with you. I promise I’ll play all the games you want tomorrow, okay?”

She paused for a moment before letting her hands fall to her sides and sighed.

“Okay… BUT! You’re gonna pay for my food AND we get on some of the rides too. Deal?”

She held out her pinky toward me. I playfully rolled my eyes and linked my pinky with her’s securing the promise.

“Deal! Now, I’m gonna go before I land face first into this dirt,” I said, walking away while waving to her.

She waved back and went over to some of the other staff standing by a booth. I walked over to where the camera crew was now disassembling their equipment and once I got to my bag, I started carefully taking apart my camera.

~

“You have got to be kidding me,” I muttered under my breath as I looked over to the microwaves and saw that all but one were ‘out of order’ and the guy using it looked like he was going to be there for a while.

Just my luck, huh? 

I shook my head and sighed, but went to pick out my food while I waited for the microwave to be available. Walking through the aisles, looking for my ramen, and happily grabbing it when I found it, then walking over to the rows of coolers to get a drink.

I walked over to the counter and paid for my food, then headed back to the microwaves. Luckily the guy from before was done heating up all his food and now it was my turn. 

I peeled the top of the ramen container back and walked over to put some water in it from the drinking fountain next to the microwaves. Once I was done putting in the water, I moved back to the microwaves and started to heat up my ramen.

While I was waiting there, I heard the quiet shuffling of feet behind me followed by a sigh. I looked into one of the microwaves and saw Yoongi standing behind me.

I quietly chuckled and said, “Would you like me to heat yours up too?”

I heard a confused “huh?” and turned around to greet Yoongi, bowing slightly.

He returned the bow with the confused look still written all over his face. “How did you know that I was behind you?”

A smirk grew onto my face, “A great magician never reveals their secrets.”

The confusion grew deeper as his eyebrows furrowed ever more. 

At this point I couldn’t hold back my laughter. “I’m kidding, I heard feet shuffling behind me and I could see your reflection in the microwaves,” I said slightly turning toward the microwaves to point at them.

He slowly nodded at my explanation. The microwave beeped, letting me know that my food was ready. I pulled out my food, setting it off to the side before I turned back to Yoongi.

“Going back to what I said earlier, would you like me to heat that up for you too?”

“Oh! Yes please.”

I took the cup of ramen from him and put it into the microwave, putting in the recommended amount of time and then pressing start.

“So… what brings you here? I would’ve thought that you would be with the others right now at the carnival,” I said, leaning against the counter and stirring my ramen with some chopsticks that were nearby. 

He shrugged, “Well, Taehyung was trying to drag me to one of the rides, but I played the “I don’t feel good” card and no more questions were asked.”

Humming in response, I took a bite of my ramen. As I stirred my ramen ready to take another bite, the microwave beeped signaling that the food was ready. 

Yoongi moved to open the microwave as I grabbed some chopsticks to hand to him, earning a quiet “thank you” before he started mixing his food. Still leaning against the counter, I watched as he walked over to the condiments bar and started to dig around in the cooler.

He proceeded to take out a slice of cheese and put it on his ramen, closing the lid.

Huh. That’s interesting…

“Would you like to sit with me? It’d be nice to have some company,” I asked as I walked to a table near a window overlooking the street.

“Sure,” he said as he walked over to the table, taking the seat across from me.

I continued to eat my ramen as he stirred his and I couldn’t stop the question rolling off my tongue, “Did you come up with that?”

He looked up from his food and I pointed to noodles that had strings of cheese hanging on them. “Hmm? Oh, you mean adding cheese to ramen?”

I nodded.

He looked down at his food, “Nope, someone taught it to me a few years back. I thought it tasted really good so I’ve been eating it like this ever since.” I nodded and went back to eating. 

We quietly ate for a while which allowed me to finish my meal, setting it aside and reaching to pull out my phone from my back pocket until Yoongi spoke up.

“What about you? Do you put anything special in your ramen,” he asked before slurping down the rest of the noodles.

I hummed, “Coincidentally, I put cheese in my ramen too, but it’s something I’ve been doing since I was a kid. I used to call it my ‘secret recipe’.”

“Wait…”

I was a little confused at his reaction and even more so when his face lit up like a light bulb just went off in his head.

“Do you remember if you taught someone this secret recipe of yours a few years back,” he asked slowly.

Tilting my head and humming I tried to think back. “Um, I’d like to say I did, but I tend to forget things pretty easily so it’s a little hard to say. Why?”

“Because I don’t think this ‘coincident’ is a coincidence at all. I’ve been having a weird sense of deja vu since you asked me that question at the microwaves,” he looked at me while I was still confused.

I shook my head lightly, trying to wrap my head around this. “Wait, so we’ve met before?”

He nodded as a small smile started to form on his lips.

“Then how come I don’t remember you? I feel like I would’ve,” I said, brows furrowing. 

“Well, we had that run in back in 2015, so it makes sense that we wouldn’t recognize each other after 3 years. Plus, we weren’t that big in 2015 which also makes sense why you didn’t recognize me back then.”

Nodding, I hummed, taking all of this in. No wonder I thought it was interesting when I saw him add cheese to his ramen. 

Now that I thought about it a little more it should’ve tipped me off that we might've met before when I noticed him adding cheese to his ramen since I really only teach that to a select few.

“I have to say… it’s pretty cool that you still remember that day,” I said with a smile starting to form on my face.

“How could I not! Because of that little interaction, we were inspired to make a song,” he said nonchalantly, leaning back and crossing his arms. 

If I had something in my mouth at this exact time, I surely would've spit it out right now after the sudden epiphany I had hearing that statement.

“WAIT A SECOND! I’m ‘the girl from the convenience store’ that inspired you to write Converse High?!” I was quite literally at the edge of my seat as I leaned further over the table.

He was a little surprised at my reaction, but then looked to the side with a hint of a smile. “Well yeah, you kind of left a lasting impression with your ‘secret recipe’ and those red converse you wore.”

I chuckled at the thought of my converse leaving a lasting impression on someone so much so that they would write a song.

It was his time to lean forward, putting his elbows on the table and squinting his eyes just a bit, “How did you know that you were the girl that inspired Converse High?”

He dramatically gasped, putting a hand on his chest, “Were you secretly a fan back then and were just faking it to get close to me?” 

I snorted and waved him off, “Please, I barely knew who BTS was back then so don’t flatter yourself too much, Min Yoongi.”

A slight frown appeared on his face, leaning back with his cross once again, "And the reason I know about the inspiration behind Converse High is because when I was doing research on what group Big Hit managed when I applied as a photographer, so I happened to come across a certain video of BTS at a radio station talking about the song.”

“I just didn’t think that your ‘mystery girl’ would have been me,” I said with a shrug, leaning back and crossing my arms, almost mirroring Yoongi, but he seemed a bit taken aback from the mention of “his mystery girl”.

He lightly scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, I might’ve talked about you a little too much in the dorms and that caused Jimin to think that I had a crush on you,” he rolled his eyes at how ridiculous Jimin’s thought was.

“In reality, I thought you were really cool and I was a little sad that I didn’t get your name because I wanted to get to know more about you. I remember the rest of the members scolding me for not asking your name” 

I giggled, the smile staying on my lips, “I thought you were pretty cool too, you know. Back then, I mean. I would’ve loved to get to know you more too.”

“Maybe it’s not too late. If you want, we could get to know each other over some coffee tomorrow?”

It was my turn to be dramatic, gasping and placing a hand on my chest. “Is THE Min Yoongi asking me out to coffee?!”

He chuckled at my overdramatic question, but nodded.

“I would love to! Oh, we would have to get coffee sometime during the day, though, because I promised Yumi that I would go to the carnival with her tomorrow night. But it’s nothing official, so you can join if you want. We could just hang out,” I said.

He put his hand to his chin, as if in thought, “Sure I don’t see why not.”

I scoffed, shaking my head as a smile grew on my face.

“Great, then it’s a date!”

He started to mirror my smile, “Great, I can’t wait, uh…”

My smile instantly fell. “Don’t tell me that you don’t know my name? I’ve been working with you for years!”

He laughed, “Of course I do, but just humor me this once. I’m trying to right a past wrong, ok?”

I lightly shook my head. 

“Fine.” I sighed, sticking out my hand toward him with a warm smile, “Y/n. Nice to meet you!”

He reached over and took my hand in his, “Nice to meet you too, I’m Yoongi.”

[teabutmakeitazure]

Closing Shift - 2

>Yan! Demon! Childe x Fem! Reader

Warnings: a little blood, stalking, non consensual touching, dubious consent towards the end, suggestive

Word count: 3.5k

Part 1

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The sound of your alarm blaring at full volume wakes you up. As usual, you snooze it at least thrice before you get out of bed. The cold air of your dorm room greets you along with the realisation that you forgot to turn on the heater last night. You must’ve been very tired.

One look at the date had your brain start listing off things you needed to get done. Even when brushing your teeth, you made a grocery list in mind and reminded yourself to do some laundry. Classes start on Tuesday instead of Monday so you have tomorrow and the day after to prepare.

You just hope you don’t let this perfectly good Saturday go to waste. After all, you do have a tendency to lounge around on weekends. Setting the frying pan on the stove, you grab an egg without forgetting to put some bread in the toaster. It’s when you’re cracking the egg that you feel a pair of arms slither around you.

With a frantic glance, you look around the kitchen but no one’s there. It’s only you. Well, it must've been your imagination. No biggie.

When breakfast is made, you sit down at your study table with your phone in one hand, browsing for something to watch while you eat. That’s when you get a notification from Ajax, the poor guy thanking you for the time yesterday and asking when you’re next free. You don’t open the message though, preferring to read it from the notifications bar.

It seems a little weird to read someone’s messages right after they send them.

-

“Grocery, done. Laundry, not done. Pre-class course prep, done. Internship application, done. What am I missing?”

You wrack your brain as you pace around in your room. Something’s missing. Something you forgot to do…

“Aha! Cleaning! Gosh, I can’t believe I forgot about cleaning.”

Well, seeing that it’s already nighttime, you think you’d rather do it tomorrow. You’re already tired as is, and it’s also midnight. Maybe hitting the hay is the better call.

As soon as you’re changed, you’re under the warm blanket, heater turned off because the colder the room, the more enticing the warm bed. This time, you don’t turn off the lights. Despite being well aware that what happened was your brain playing tricks on you, you’re still scared. So, the light stays on tonight.

-

When you wake up, you see nothing. Maybe it's because the light is now turned off and the curtains are drawn or maybe it's because a hand covers both your eyes. You can't be sure which it is, for every muscle in your body refuses to listen to you.

You're not panicking. You swear you aren't. Despite the loss of sight, you know you're in your room. The bedsheet feels the same under your palm and the warmth inside the blanket is yours. So whose warmth is covering your eyes?

It's okay.

Breathe.

It's just a nightmare.

You're safe.

Something presses up behind you, warm and inviting, and the only thing stopping you from screaming is the loss of control in your body. Just to confirm your fears, you try to open your eyes. Your eyelids do respond, but your heart sinks when you feel your lashes flutter against something.

"Go back to sleep, [Name]," a voice whispers.

Your mind doesn't listen to it, instead trying its best to scream and thrash just to lay hopelessly as your body remains frozen.

Lips brush your ear as the voice whispers again, a warm hand now resting on your bare stomach. "Sleep. We have lots to do."

You feel the owner of the voice smile against your cheek as your eyelids slowly close, mind falling into a peaceful slumber.

-

The only thing your alarm gets in return for waking you up is a colourful string of words. Just a few minutes after getting up, you turn off the light you left open last night and rub your eyes as you make your way to the bathroom to start your day.

In a few hours, you’re done cleaning your dorm and successfully check everything off the list. Now all you have to do is mentally prepare yourself for another night out with Ajax. He’s been bugging you to go to some family owned coffeehouse downtown, saying that their ‘marshmallow game’ is ‘like no other’. It takes some lounging around and a few long phone calls to friends to bring in the evening.

A little pep talk later, you’re out the door with the cherished oversized coat and a scarf. You don’t know why, you honestly don’t know, but you’re also wearing lip gloss. No, you refuse to admit that you've snooped to the level of wanting to impress a man. It’s just that the weather is dry and lip gloss ensures less use of chapstick. Yes, that’s what it is.

After you get off the train, you make your way to the meeting spot you both decided. Your breath leaves your mouth in puffs, the temperature of the winter night making you thank yourself for indoor heating. When Ajax’s ginger hair comes into sight, you remind yourself of only staying in public with him lest something… indecent occur. You’re aware of your ‘inclination’ to him, and you’d rather not put yourself to the test.

Being somewhere alone with him would be excruciating considering how attractive you find him, so strictly staying in public it is no matter how nerve wracking sitting across him on a table might be.

With a smile that’s all teeth, he greets you, and you find yourself a little taken by surprise with how his canines seemed a little prominent for a moment. You brush off the feeling as simple nervousness and smile back as you allow him to lead the way.

The smell of caffeine and chocolate fills the shop, even helping you relax a little when the two of you sit down across each other. Soon, the relaxed atmosphere turns into a perplexed one when Ajax snatches the menu from your hands with a cheeky grin on his face.

“I’ll order for you! Don’t worry about the price. I’ll take care of it.”

You gasp, “We agreed on me paying for myself!”

“Well,” he drawls, “I don’t believe that’s very gentlemanly for me to do. End of argument. Now, do you like hot fudge or roasted marshmallows?”

“That’s not fair!”

“Or maybe you’d be fine with both?”

The complete ignorance of your exclamations makes you grumble. Ajax, meanwhile, has the most smug look known to mankind on his face right now.

“...I’ll take the hot fudge,” you concede.

The ginger bastard completely ignores you, ordering the cup that has both hot fudge and roasted marshmallows. When he turns back to you after giving the order, he’s met with a scowl.

“Uh-”

“You’re insufferable, you know.”

Ajax visibly gulps at your displeased tone. “And why’s that?”

“First off, are you really going to ignore the blessing that is hot chocolate and get simple coffee again?”

“It does help me sleep… and not make me gain weight.”

You massage your temples upon hearing the same reason for the umpteenth time. “And secondly, how dare you, Ajax, spend your money like this?”

He turns pale at the question. “Oh no. How do you know about the vacuum?”

“What?”

“You’re scolding me about the vacuum right? The one I bought yesterday?”

You blink owlishly at him, the confusion explicitly written on your face. “No? I’m talking about the drink. That’s going to be expensive!”

He merely laughs at that, carefree and boyish as he looks at you with a smile. “Not at all. Spending some extra dollars isn’t going to hurt. It never will, not if it’s for you.”

The sentiment makes you flush. Ajax really does know how to use his words. He can be so sweet sometimes, and those lips… no! Begone thought! No thirsting over his lips! Perfectly moisturised lips shouldn't be this darn attractive!

"So… how's preparation for the new semester going, [Name]?"

-

You can't believe you did that.

You absolutely cannot believe yourself.

Ajax, as an act of whatever it was, had grabbed your hand before parting ways at the station and kissed your knuckles to which all you said was, "Thanks."

Thanks.

Oh God, you're hopeless. Bless the man for laughing it off, but you're sure he found it awkward too. You scream into your pillow in frustration, the unwanted memory repeating in your head. That was so unbearably ungrateful of you.

After punching the air and pillow a few times, you fall back onto your bed with a thump, closing your eyes despite the light as you will yourself to sleep.

-

While changing clothes, you paused when you saw your reflection in the mirror. There's a bruise right where your chest starts but more on the left side. It looks like you hurt yourself? The bruise is a bit red but it doesn't sting. Maybe you scratched yourself in your sleep. No biggie.

A ring from your phone alerts you, a call from Ajax that you don't pick up because you're tangled up in your shirt, face half through. You make a mental note to call him back later. However, the mental note rests in the back of your mind when you head out to meet your friends with your phone left on vibrate.

-

The first thing you do when you get back is regret not taking the oversized coat. It was cold and you stayed out for a bit longer than you anticipated, getting back two hours after sundown. The hoodie you wore only did so much to block out the cold temperature outside on campus.

Kicking off your shoes, you turn on the light as you slump into your chair, bag laying forgotten on the floor. At least you had an early dinner today. You don't have to worry about eating now, but maybe some kind of warm drink would help. Yes, you have tea at home.

Getting up in one smooth motion, you make your way to the kitchen. Since you don't own a kettle, you boil some water in a little pot and carefully pour it out. When you drop a tea bag into the cup, you feel a warm breath of air brush your ear and immediately turn back, eyes quickly scanning the room behind you.

Nothing. Just a window that's a little open.

Breathe, [Name]. There's nothing there.

With shaking hands, you sit down on your desk with the cup, watching as the colour slowly darkens in the water. The peach tea smells amazing, and you try your best to think over your upcoming courses and classes while you drink. Soon, the cup is empty and you get up to wash it but two arms wrap around your torso from behind the backrest.

You try to scream, but your mouth doesn't even open.

"I don't appreciate you ignoring me, you know."

A voice very familiar to you whispers in your ear.

"Not answering my calls or texts and going out without your special coat… are you trying to get me jealous? If you are, it's working."

You try to thrash around to fight his grip but you can't move. This time when he talks, his lips brush your earlobe and you shiver at the contact.

"I can smell them on you. It's disgusting."

He turns the chair around, and you're met with Ajax wearing his usual maroon dress shirt and black pants, jacket lying forgotten on the floor behind him as he kneels down. His eyes refuse to even acknowledge the light falling onto them, the two endless oceans staring into you.

"Do you not have an ounce of shame for ignoring me for so long? Come on, speak."

You feel in control of your voice again and take the opportunity. "H-how did you get in?"

"Answer the question, my dear. Why were you ignoring me?"

"I wasn't ignoring you-"

"Then how do you explain going out with those simpleton mortals and coming here smelling like them as well? And you didn't even wear the damn coat!"

You don't answer, the overwhelming feeling of fear flowing in your blood as your body shivers involuntarily under his lifeless gaze.

"My sweet, sweet [Name]." His warm hands grab your face, the feeling burning your skin. "My mate, my love. You didn't answer my call or texts. What am I supposed to do if you're going to ignore me? I can't have you get sick."

"H-how did you come in?"

He tilts his head slightly, a smile quickly stretching on his lips. "Why, because of your presence of course."

The smile unnerves you more than the paralysis does. You can't move. You can't even shiver without shuddering.

"Are you scared?"

The low tone of his voice makes you shudder again, eyes watering at the loss of control.

"Y-yes."

Ajax buries his face into your neck, his nose brushing the skin. "Good. Mm, I should get rid of this smell. It's revolting."

You brace yourself for the worst, but the most that comes is a lick on your neck.

"Why… are you here?"

His lips brush your skin when he speaks. "I could ask you the same. I asked you to meet me today, but you didn't even see my message."

"I'm sorry-"

"Ah ah ah. No crying." He pulls away and brushes away the few tears that managed to escape your eyes. "You only cry when I pleasure you. You're my mate. Maybe I should keep you in our realm to make you start acting like it."

A sharp nail accidentally cuts the flesh of your cheek and any blood that manages to ooze out is promptly licked up by him.

"Do you remember Friday," he mumbled against your cheek. "Anything at all?"

"We… we went to a coffee shop."

"And?"

"A-and that's it. We went there and you ordered coffee while I ordered hot chocolate. And then… I went home."

He smiles. "Did you?"

The question makes you nervously gulp.

"Seems like your memory really did get tampered," he states.

“What do you mean…?”

“Are you sure you went home?”

The sharp canines that peak out when he speaks, bring a sense of deja vu. From the way your eyes widen, Ajax senses that you’re realising something.

“And,” he continues, “do you remember the name Tartaglia?”

Despite the situation, you wrack your brain for any memory of the name. The feeling of familiarity does make you suspicious, but how would your memory get tampered with? How do you even know that Ajax didn’t break in?

Upon getting no answer from you, he chuckles. “I know, I know. I made you forget. Don’t worry though. I’ll give you a reminder.”

A sharp, claw-like nail presses down on your tongue when he pries open your mouth. You almost gag at the action, but he quickly stops the reaction midway when he kisses you, his tongue sucking any blood that bleeds from yours.

You must’ve regained control in your body because you’re pushing him away as hard as you can, but he doesn’t budge. It takes a few minutes for your arms to go limp due to the lack of oxygen and only a moment for you to start gasping in air when he finally frees you.

“Oh and your gag reflex is very good, I must say. You sadly don’t remember anything, so you’ll have to take my word for it. Unless… you’re willing to see it for yourself again?”

“Please, don’t hurt me.”

He sighs, bored and spent, and simply picks you up. Not a single word is uttered as he gently places you on the bed, climbing up beside you soon after. You merely watch with curious yet fearful eyes as he brings a lock of your hair to his lips. When his eyes flicker over to you briefly, you move your gaze to the ceiling above, the red irises making you more apprehensive.

“I’m not going to hurt you, you know. Not if you behave.”

Your reply comes in the form of a question. “Why? What’s going on…?”

With a slight movement of your head, you’re now facing him as your hair sprawls out on the pillow. You remind yourself to de-escalate the situation and keep it that way. If you can stay safe, answers will come.

“Why?” He smirks. “Are you curious about me? Ah, maybe doing everything a second time will make things more fun.” He sits up straight, eyeing your form. Blood red eyes remain fixed on the swell of your chest, but quickly re-establish eye contact when he starts speaking.

“My name is Tartaglia, and as you may have guessed like you did last time, I am not human. Though it makes me a little sad that you never questioned the odd stuff despite being so wary of me at first, I can’t deny that your innocence is more than just a little attractive to me.”

He brushes away a few strands of hair from your face and continues. “I’m pretty grateful that you’re behaving right now. It gives the death of all those other men a little worth.”

Like last time, your eyes widen, but he shushes you before you could speak.

“Yes yes. I know you’re horrified over me being the one behind that, but competition has to be eliminated. Anyway, before cussing me out in your mind at least say sorry because I can hear your thoughts!”

You freeze.

“A blood bond is more than just life binding.”

You raise yourself on one elbow, numerous questions going through your head but Ajax - or Tartaglia - pushes you to lay back down.

“A blood bond has been made between us. I completed it when I cut your tongue and drank the blood. Isn’t that convenient?”

“It’s not-”

“No,” he shushes you again. “Let me talk.” Clearing his throat, he speaks again. “With this, I can hear everything you say to yourself in your mind. Other than that, if one of us dies, the other dies too, and if you stay away from me for long, you start to get sick. Very sick.”

“Bullshit. You’re lying.”

“Am I? Then how do I know you wanted to kiss me yesterday at the coffee shop? Or how did I get in? How did we suddenly get to my room?”

What? No, he’s right. You’re not in your room anymore. You sit up to look around in confusion, but he pushes you back to lie down where the moonlight falls on the bed.

“Ahem,” he clears his throat. “I don’t see why this is a problem. You like me, don’t you? So much that you told yourself not to be alone with me.”

His hand grabs your thigh and gives it a little squeeze. “I want to mark more than just your chest.”

Your eyes go as wide as saucers.

“Spending the night with you while you sleep isn’t enough,” he confesses. Now lying next to you, he nuzzles his face into your neck, completely ignoring how you’re pushing him away. “You love me, right? You’ve even had dirty thoughts about me.”

You shiver when the hand on your thigh travels upwards.

“Show your devotion to me, my mate. The night is young. Let me taste you till the sun comes up.”

This time, you don’t fight back when his hand goes under your shirt as he kisses you.

-

The first thing you feel when you wake up is cold. You’re so unbearably cold that you immediately melt inside the blanket once it covers you. In your sleepy haze, you end up cuddling the warm body next to you, not questioning why you’re not alone.

The first thing you see when you wake up again later is the severe lack of clothes on you. Only one shirt covers you - no undergarments, no nothing - and your thighs have several marks on them. You have to try your best to ignore the ones that clearly look like bite marks. Only a few buttons in the middle of the maroon shirt are done, exposing everything else on the top and bottom.

Despite the heating in the unfamiliar room, your hands are cold. Soon, when you’ve gathered the strength to leave the bed, a voice in your head, one from last night, echoes.

‘Oh you sound so heavenly when you scream.’

The door suddenly swings open and in the blink of an eye, you’re being gently pushed back onto the bed by a familiar ginger. Sunlight filters through the curtains and falls onto you when your back hits the mattress, outlining every curve through the fabric of his shirt.

“Come on, you can’t get up before I have my taste.”

[crookedkryptonitebeliever]

Best and Worst of Both worlds (part 23)

Tw: Montgomery's really touchy n doesn know what is no

part 24

You were sent home. Because all you wanted to do was collapse on your bed and sleep the night away. The rain makes it extra cozy for you to cuddle under the blankets. Once your head hit the pillow, you were out like a light.

You woke up to your phone buzzing. But it isn't Yves this time. It's Evangeline.

You picked it up and brought it to your ear, giving her a groggy 'hello'?

"Wake up, damn it! You're going to miss class again, daddy's already waiting outside for you!" You let out a yelp as you heard loud honking from outside.

You whined as you got out of bed, throwing a mini tantrum by stomping out of your room. You wish that Yves was here, he would have woken you up on the right side of bed every day. Yves would have been gentle and stress-free, he would have stroked your hair and given you soft kisses as an alarm. There wouldn't be any loud noises or sudden surprises.

You grumbled as you got yourself ready for the day.

__

This time, you remembered to bring the premade meals Yves prepared in the fridge. Sharing yesterday's lunch with Evangeline while you ate the fresher one today. Mr. Jones fussed with you about wearing sunscreen, so now you're protected from the sun.

Yves only sent you a singular text this morning at 8:30am.

"Good morning, my dear. May you have a lovely day, (name)."

No reminders, no updates about what he did or saw, no requests to contact him. You brushed it off as him being busy, deciding to favour Evangeline's attention over his. You didn't even reply to his only message, thinking that Yves would mind too much about it.

"Mmm! This is delicious, Sir Yves is a really great cook!" Complimented Evangeline as she took another bite of the cold wrap. You're eating your own meal that has specific instructions to microwave it, luckily there are some that you could use in the student's lounge.

"Aww, he's such a sweet partner too. Look!" She showed you a message left by Yves, that was attached to the wrapper of yesterday's meal.

"Lunch for (full name)- Monday.

Meal: Turkey and Apricot Wrap. Do not heat. Eat as it is.

Ingredients: lactose-free cream cheese, apricot reserves, wheat tortillas, shredded turkey, spices, arugula. Contains gluten.

Remember to put on sunscreen. There is no need to be nervous as I know you will do well on your first day. I will be thinking of you always. Call me if you want to talk about your day, I will listen.

Love,

Yves"

You never realized that there was a whole paragraph plastered on its wrapping. So you decided to check your container for any similar texts. Sure enough, you found one.

"Lunch for (name)- Tuesday

Meal: Coq au vin. Microwave with lid partially open, 3-4 minutes. Be careful as the contents will be hot.

Ingredients: Chicken, pearl onions, garlic, spices, pinot noir red wine, button mushrooms, bacon, butter, tomato paste, flour, homemade beef stock, tagliatelle. Contains gluten and lactose.

Well done, my dear (name). You have reached your second day. I hope you find my cooking so far to be appetizing, your thoughts would be very much appreciated. As always, do not hesitate to contact me if you need me. I will always be there for you. Be careful not to burn your tongue.

Love,

Yves"

She gushed over today's note. "That's so cute! I can see why you're into older men now."

You lightly punched her on the shoulder and laughed along.

You and her were eating peacefully, now that you have exhausted all the conversation topics. Both of you ate in silence, enjoying the food from Yves.

But then, all of the sudden, a pair of hands clamped down onto your shoulders. Causing you to shriek and jump in your seat.

"Scared ya, didn't I?" You felt his stubble scraped against your skin that has been softened by the skincare routine Yves set for you.

Colour drain from Evangeline's and your faces.

You tried swatting him away, but he took a deep sniff of your hair, inhaling all your scent. You protested as he buries his nose into your head, Montgomery is really loud in his sniffing. "You smell so good..." He mumbled lazily as he held you from behind.

Evangeline stood up and pried him away from you, but only successfully to a certain extent.

"Fine, fine. I'll save the lovey-dovey stuff for later when you're easier to win over." He massaged your shoulders with his thumb. You frown because he doesn't seem to understand that his strength is too much, you think you will bruise.

"You are hurting (name)." Evangeline firmly told him off. To your shock though, he immediately lets go and stroke your hair in an unnaturally, tender way.

"Oh! I'm so sorry darlin'... You're so soft and sweet, I sure forgot I can be a damn brute sometimes." You looked up at him and there was a considerable amount of guilt being expressed on his face.

He ignored Evangeline and invited himself to your table, sitting on the chair adjacent to yours.

"Here, I got us lunch."

Montgomery sets down a paper bag that has an imposing fast food logo printed on it. The smell of piping hot french fries and meat patties wafted throughout the air. He began unpacking it, placing a thin, cardboard box containing a large burger in front of you. Even though you're clearly eating the well crafted meal Yves made.

"And I didn't forget about yer rich friend." He took out a much smaller sandwich, wrapped in wax paper. Albeit begrudgingly.

"It ain't like she's gonna appreciate it anyways..." He muttered under his breath.

"Thank you very much, Sir Montgomery." Although she was kind and friendly in her response, you sensed a bit of animosity radiating from her. Montgomery seems to pick it up faster than you and tenfold the intensity.

He shot her a dirty look before going back to showcasing what he bought.

"I got ya' your favourite soda in a jumbo cup." He carefully pulled out a huge plastic vessel containing an ice-cooled liquid, you can hear it noisily sloshing and fizzing. It looks intimidating to say the least; you definitely can't finish it even with the help of Evangeline.

"You gotta fuel your brain somehow through those soul killin' classes." He stuck his hand back into the bag.

"I got ya' a cookie, a cupcake, some fries aaand..." He rummaged through the bag and pulled out something so small, that it's entirely engulfed by his hand. "A nice, little gift for ya."

He smiled and presented to you in a closed fist. You shakily uncurled his rough fingers off his palm to reveal... a nice little keychain?

"They said it's a limited edition! So I got ya one, I saw a bunch of youngins' goin' crazy over it. Must be the newest, hottest thing among the kids these days."

You sucked your lips in and stared at it, wide eye. You're not admitting it to anyone, but you secretly longed for it ever since you saw a promotional advertisement on your social media feed. You knew back then you could never afford it because it's $30 for this piece of metal alloy and you had to buy a meal to be eligible to get it.

However, you're not fooling anyone. Montgomery and Evangeline can see how obvious you desperately wanted it upon presentation. Evangeline shook her head, now knowing that her friend is susceptible to predatory marketing tactics. Montgomery grinned from ear to ear, knowing that he could take advantage of this situation.

Before your twitchy fingers could grab it, Montgomery pulled it away and dangled it over your head.

"Where's my thanks?" He teasingly brought his face closer to yours.

You quickly mumbled some words of gratitude before trying to reach for that desired toy. He laughed at your pathetic attempt to grab it, he's too tall for you and you're too unathletic to hop far.

Evangeline almost shot up when she saw his other hand hovering around your waist. Montgomery noticed this reaction of hers and decided to place it on the table, where you and her could see.

"I only accept gratitude in kisses or phone numbers." He pressed his forehead against yours while smirking cockily.

You sat back down. Despair surfaced in your eyes as you went back to eating the coq au Vin.

"Huh? You don't wanna take it?" You shook your head and did not say a word more. The conversation is over and it's not worth it for a piece of overpriced trash.

Montgomery's smile dropped and he turned his focus to Evangeline, who simply gave him a polite, but smug smile.

"You know, it isn't a gift if you expect something in return." Evangeline innocently commented, unwrapping her burger. "It's a transaction now."

Montgomery looked away and paid no mind to her words.

She continued to jab at him verbally.

"So... is your relationship with (name)... transactional? Are you their sugar daddy?"

Anger flashed on his face as he whipped his head to Evangeline. She grinned toothily as she felt a sense of accomplishment by striking a nerve in Montgomery.

"Hey, you watch your mouth, spoiled brat." He hissed through a clenched jaw while pointing menacingly at her.

"I'm just asking a question, sir. It really does seem like you're doing all these seemingly nice gestures, just to get something back." She batted her eyelashes and pouted.

"Shut your trap, you ain't know nothin' about our relationship." Montgomery's veins are starting to show, you cower in the corner, staring at Evangeline and silently pleading her not to go on. But all she did was give you a reassuring look, mixed with a devilish one.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend sir. You're right, I don't know anything about your relationship with (name). That's why, I'm asking! I want to educate myself, so I can do better!" She spoke in the most fake performative tone ever, you could tell she was doing this on purpose to rile Montgomery up.

"You ask too many questions, Goldilocks. Ya' need to mind ya' own business." Montgomery started gritting his teeth and balling his fists.

"I'm not judging! I promise. There isn't anything wrong with having a transactional relationship, I think it's a good thing we can choose how to define our-"

"I was just kiddin', Baby." Montgomery cooed at you. Simultaneously cutting Evangeline off.

He fixed the keychain onto the zipper of your bag. "You ain't need to give anything back. I'm doin' all these because that's what a good man would do for their partners." He ruffled your hair.

Montgomery glared at Evangeline who is now having a self-congratulatory grin on her blemish-free face.

"God, y'all rich people sound the same." He grumbled, taking out his own burger and began eating.

"Thank you! We take our speech classes very seriously." That earned a scoff from Montgomery.

She hummed and tapped her chin. Brewing up more ways to mess with Montgomery.

While she took her sweet time, you finished your meal from Yves. You're not hungry anymore, so you didn't touch the food Montgomery brought.

Of course, he noticed it. "Yer food is gonna get cold, soggy fries are the worst." He tipped the bag so you would have easier access to its contents. "Dig in, sweetheart. Ain't nothin' to be shy about. They're all for ya'."

You declined, saying that you're full.

"Aw, come on. You gotta eat, you're growin'! You need your nutrients and-"

"Aren't you a bit too old to be sitting with us?" Evangeline crossed her legs and watched him intently, her pupils dilated out of mischief and curiosity. He groaned and rolled his eyes at her.

"I'm not playin' with you. Shut up." He snarled while he opened your burger box for you to eat out of.

"But sir! You're--"

Montgomery slammed his fist on the table.

"I'm grown, they're grown, you're grown. Age ain't nothin' but a number at this point. We're all adults here, you better start actin' like one, ya' little shit." He rose from his chair and made himself look bigger to intimidate Evangeline into stopping. But she persisted with that irritatingly confident smirk of hers.

"Hmm. I wouldn't conflate legality with morality. (Name) and I are still very young, after all. I'm sure you're wise and mature, it comes with age. We can learn a lot from you, sir!" Her tone became increasingly condescending and mocking, her baby blues bore holes into Montgomery's dark eyes.

You could see his lower eyelid twitching out of fury. Your friend is definitely going to get pummeled into a pulp if she doesn't back down. But she either refused to heed your quiet warnings or is oblivious to it.

"Listen here, you piece of--"

He was interrupted by an alarm blaring from his back pocket. Montgomery fished it out and took a look at his phone screen.

He frowned, grumbling incoherently under his breath as he began packing up.

"You were saying? And, where are you going--"

"To work! God damn! You're fuckin' annoying!" He exclaimed at her. All Evangeline did was maintain her straight posture and sweet smile.

"Aw. I'm sorry to hear that. Could you please tell me what I did wrong? I only wanted to learn..." He ignored her completely and whipped out his wallet. Montgomery pulled out two $20 notes and stuffed it into your bag. The man made sure to zip it up, so it wouldn't slip out.

"Treat yourself to somethin' nice after class. I'll be late, so don't wait up- go home with goldie, it ain't that safe to use the bus at night. Unless you wanna give me your number..." The man looked at you with hopeful eyes. You shook your head and he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"That's so sweet of you! Giving (name) some money to spend, just like a sugar daddy would!" She clapped her hands in excitement.

"Shut. Up." He pointed his index finger at her. Evangeline gave him Jazz hands and an open-mouth smile. Then, Montgomery turned to you.

"You gotta pick better friends, baby." He kissed you on the forehead before you could react. Cringing at how his stubble would scratch you and his hair leaving a mild greasy residue on your skin. His lips were dry and leathery, the experience was disgusting to you.

You let out a shout and tried your best to shove him away. But all you did was make him sway a little.

"Bye honey, I'll see you around." He gave you a brief, affectionate pinch on the cheek before taking off.

You and Evangeline looked at the vast number of food items he left for you. Neither of you took a bite out of anything.

You asked her if she wanted to bring it back home. She shook her head.

You decided to pack them up for your housemates instead, hopefully gaining some of their favour while Yves is away.

Evangeline wrapped her own untouched burger back up and dumped it into the paper bag.

You felt a buzz in your pocket. So you fished it out to see what was causing it.

A text from Yves was displayed on your notifications.

"I miss you."

You deem it as something unimportant, just a random thought that your boyfriend opt to share just for the sake of sharing. Totally not hinting you to call him back. So you turned your phone off and returned your device back to your pocket.

Your class is in 10 minutes anyways, you and Evangeline better hurry and wrap up soon.

[pumpkzsafeplace]

helping a sick cg ⭐️

˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙

now although we all believe that our cg’s are superhero’s, they sadly do still get sick 💊

my daddy has sadly fallen into that category, so i’ll show you all the tips i did today to help cheer him up and help him feel a little better <3

˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙

tips to help sick cg’s:

-> make sure they’re hydrated 🥛: this is incredibly important as we need to help flush the nasty bacteria out. if you’re within distance you can buy them drinks or refill their glasses. if you’re online you can set alarms to give them a reminder, hehe <3

-> remind them to eat small but often 🥘: they’re tummy may be sore right now so eating small but often will help get rid of that sick feeling, and ensure that they won’t throw up afterwards.

-> make sure they take some medicine 💊: medicine is super important if they want to get fit and healthy again! so make sure they take the right amount at the right times, set phone alarms to help remind them.

-> plushie cuddles 🧸: your cg probably won’t be able to hug you without leaving a high possibility of passing on their sickness, which is why plushie cuddles are the next best thing. give them a plushie you don’t really use (to protect yourself from germs) and let them cuddle it & keep them company <3

-> make sure they’re wrapped up 🛌: blankets, blankets and even more blankets to make sure they’re warm and comfortable! <3

-> try not to worry <3: i know it’s a worry some time, but sickness is normal and your cg will be fit and healthy sooner than you think <3

gif isn’t mine <3

[creations-by-chaosfay]

Small tip for fellow makers: set an hour that you set your tools down and call it a day. Give yourself enough time to wind down and relax.

I stop at 8PM, and begin the process of cleaning and setting things up for my next work session. Today I stopped at 8PM, set my quilting hoop down, and put all my tools in my basket. The physical and visual act of doing this triggers a mental shift for me, from making to resting.

I set things up for working tomorrow, saving me an argument with my ADHD tomorrow. All i'll need to do is open up my basket and put things on the side table, adjust my recliner, quilt hoop on my lap, and I'm good to go. Convenience is a big executive dysfunction problem. Doing this now means working tomorrow.

Set a time to set your tools down. Give yourself enough time to rest before going to bed. I can't go from making to sleeping, and this give me a sort of buffer zone. At 10PM is when I begin thr process of working on sleep, doing bedtime stuff, reading, and then sleeping.

Developing habits is extremely difficult with ADHD. Each step is a conscious thought and choice. Now I rarely stay awake beyond 1AM, wake up naturally between 8AM and 9AM, and set up bio-break alarms on my phone to remind me to eat, drink, stretch, etc. Hyperfocus is a great way to forget your body has absolutely necessary things.

Now decide when is a good and healthy time for you to stop making. Determine what kind of buffer zone you need between making and sleeping, and go from there.

[purplephantomwolf]

Savoring the Finish Line

Chapter One

Story Synopsis: Max Verstappen falls in love with a woman who owns a bakery.

Note: This is not an accurate portrayal of how the real people in this act. I do not know them personally, so I will not be portraying them accurately. Also, this is not an accurate portrayal with how a bakery works. I did my best with research, but it's not 100%.

Warnings for this chapter: Badly translated French, mention of panic attack

Next chapter: Chapter Two

Masterlist

December 18, 2021

     I’m pulled out of my deep slumber by a whining noise and something wet on my face. I groan, wiping my face. “Yuck,” I mumble, feeling wetness on my fingers. I hear a whine again and wake up more. I look to my left and am met by the cold, wet nose of my Pitbull puppy, Lacey. I glance at the clock, letting out a sigh when I see that it’s 4 am, 30 minutes before my alarm goes off. Lacey whines again, jumping off my bed and running to the door. I spot Lacey’s sister Elise, a German Shepard puppy, already standing by the door. “Alright, I’m coming,” I mumble, dragging myself out of bed. I slide on some flip flops before grabbing Lacey and Elise’s leashes. I clip the leashes onto their collars and walk down the stairs of my apartment, into my bakery. I flip on all the lights, blinding myself and waking up more. Elise whines, reminding me why I’m up. I flip the lock of the back door, walking outside with my girls. We start our morning walk, stopping every five seconds so Lacey or Elise can sniff the ground. 

     Eventually, we make a loop around the block. I open the back door and the girls go barreling through the door and up the stairs. I laugh and glance at the time. It’s now 5 am, so I need to start preparing the bakery for opening. I rush upstairs to change into my uniform. Lacey and Elise are patiently waiting by their food bowls. I quickly change, before feeding the puppies. I head downstairs while they eat. 

     I start up all the ovens in the kitchen, starting the fans to keep the place cool next. Next, I take the dough I made last night for the croissants out of the fridge. I walk over to the computer in my office, booting up the computer. I hit play on the bakery playlist I have created. I grab my apron, sliding it over my head. I unlock the front door so my employees can enter. Walking back to the kitchen, I start making the croissants. I hear the bell on the bakery front door ring, as Louis, I assume, enters. Louis is an older gentleman working at my bakery part time in his retirement. His wife, Estelle, also works part time here. She usually comes in later than he does. “Bonjour, Adaline!” I hear him call. 

     “Bonjour, Louis,” I call back, sliding the croissants into the oven. “I just put the croissants in the oven. Can you get started on wiping down the surfaces here please?” I ask him, wiping my hands on my apron as I walk out of the kitchen. Louis nods quickly, flashing me a quick smile. He walks off to the office to put up his coat and things. He then quickly gets to work, wiping down every surface. I walk back into the kitchen, getting out some of the pastries and breads I baked yesterday. I put them in a second oven, heating them up. I hum along to the soft music as I work, hearing Louis singing along in the front. 

     “So, what’s your plans for your birthday on Monday, ma chérie?” I hear Louis ask from behind me, as I pull the croissants out of the oven. I sigh, setting the tray down. 

     “Cuddling up under a blanket and eating ice cream with Lacey and Elise while watching Doctor Who,” I shrug, turning to pull the other pastries out of the oven. I hear Louis sigh behind me. Knowing him, I just know that he’s shaking his head in fake disappointment. 

     “Non, non. Oh que non. You’ll be spending it with Estelle and I, at least for dinner. We’ll make that pesto pasta you like so much. Be at our house by 7,” Louis declares. I sigh, turning around to face him. 

     “Louis, the bakery doesn’t close until 8 on Mondays,” I remind him. He gives me a stern look, telling me it’s non-negotiable. “Fine, fine. I’ll be there,” I give in, smiling. Louis grins, happy with himself. “You guys are still coming over for Christmas dinner, right,” I ask. Louis nods, before grabbing the plate of croissants. He heads back to the front to get started on placing the croissants in the display. I grin to myself, mumbling, “Stubborn man.” 

     As I’m placing the last pastry of the first batch in the display, the bell for the door goes off. I glance up, smiling as Estelle enters. “Morning, Estelle,” I wave. 

     “Morning, mon amour,” she smiles. She heads into the office to put her things up, but not before giving Louis a kiss. I let out a small smile at how cute they are. 50 years later, and they’re still as in love with each other as they were on day one. I head to the front door, flipping the sign from saying we’re closed to saying we’re open. Estelle comes out of the office, taking up her station at the register, Louis takes up position at the coffee station, and I head back to my position in the kitchen.

***********************************************************************

     “Have a good night, guys,” I say, giving Louis and Estelle kisses goodbye on their cheeks. 

     “You too, sweetie. Don’t work too hard. I know it’s cleaning night,” Estelle gives me a playful glare. I raise my hands in defense. 

     “I promise I won’t overwork myself. Won’t happen again. No need to worry about me,” I grin. Louis and Estell give me hugs and a kiss on the forehead before heading out the door. Once they’re out of sight, I race upstairs to change into some workout shorts and my stained Lewis Hamilton shirt. My father gave it to me back when Lewis was absolutely dominating as a joke. I've been a Red Bull fan since they entered Formula 1, which did not make my dad, a die hard Mercedes fan, happy. I tend to only wear the Lewis shirt when I’m cleaning, which explains all the stains you see on it. I walk back downstairs, bringing Lacey and Elise with me. I check on them throughout the day, but I do not allow them to be in the bakery while there are customers here. When no one is here, I allow them to stay in the kitchen with me. 

     I set to work cleaning, stopping to play with the puppies every so often. After an hour of cleaning, I hear the bell for the door ring. My eyebrows knit in confusion. “I thought I’d locked the door, oops,” I mumble. I turn to my dogs, telling them to sit and stay. They obediently listen to me. “I’m sorry, we’re closed,” I say, walking out the kitchen doors. I freeze when I look around. Two thoughts immediately enter my head. 

One: Max Verstappen is in my bakery. 

Two: Max Verstappen is currently having a panic attack. 

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

Taglist: @bookishbabyyy

[aceswritingcorner]

Lazy Mornings with...

Dabi

He is by the far the least likely to ever be a morning person

During rough nights he will either be holding his s/o with a death grip

Or not be in bed at all

But if the first scenario does exist-

Good luck escaping his grip if you must do early morning items

A tired Dabi equals a clingy Dabi if you mean a lot to him

And he does not enjoy ever letting you out of his sight; Being a villain is tough enough- he doesn’t need you to get pushed into the mix

-“Doll-” The words muttered tiredly as a scarred arm kept you against his chest. He could feel you trying to get up, that incestant alarm buzzing next to the bed as a reminder. Work was necessary but couldn’t you call in this once and stay with him? Is he not more important than your damned job that ate up all your time when he was gone for weeks on end.

Alright- He couldn’t help that one. Damn Shigaraki sending him on missions for that long-

“Dabs, babe, I’ve gotta get up. You know I have work today.” He could feel the comfort from your palm cupping his cheek as he kept his eyes shut stubbornly.

“Screw work. Stay in with me instead.” His arms still wrapped around you with as much of a stubborn grasp as he could manage, if you didn’t know any better, there might even be a form of a pout on his lips. “We could even stay here- go to the kitchen for food, or just eat you out instead-”

“Dabi!-” A cheeky grin formed on his face as he gave a tired chuckle, the innuendo still hanging in the air as a slight blush covered your face.

Yeah… Dabi in the mornings is not an easy one to handle

He will do just about anything to keep you in bed when he wants to cuddle

That is no exception to simply laying right on top of you to keep you pinned underneath him

In any other situation- it may lead to lazy morning sex perhaps

But for now, he simply wishes to cuddle and ignore that damned buzzing of your phone before he sets it on fire to shut it off.

[noramoons]

and tomorrow we’ll begin anew | l.sm

pairing: lee seokmin x g/n reader

genre: fluff, slight angst

rating: T/13+

warnings: language, descriptions of anxiety/insecurities, (not proofread 🤡)

word count: 2k

summary: today has been a colossally bad day—luckily, your boyfriend is there to remind you that you don’t have to deal with it alone.

a/n: this is so wildly self indulgent it is not even funny…not even sure i like this piece anymore tbh but it is here! 🤭

7:17 a.m.

The morning light streaming into your bedroom is warm, basking you in the golden glow of a new day. It doesn't bring you the reassuring warmth it's meant to, however, when you wake up to see your alarm clock and realize you've slept in an extra half hour.

8:07 a.m.

Okay, you're seven minutes late to work. Fine. Whatever. That shouldn't send your entire day up in flames.  

But it burns down anyway. Everything past that first hour is tinged with smoke, hanging heavy over you like a cloud of inevitable mistakes. You've nearly forgotten a deadline. Your printer stops working. One of your coworkers calls in sick and you end up having to do double the work you would normally do.

And even with all of that, the day drags—you think to yourself no less than five times throughout your shift that you're aren't sure you'll ever make it home again.

Okay, you aren't delusional enough to not realize how slightly dramatic you might be behaving—but you really can't remember a day at work worse than this in a long while. You feel utterly useless. There's no other way to put it.

4:12 p.m.

It isn't until your clock finally ticks on the last hour, a single glimmer of hope in what has been an absolute shitshow of a day, that you remember your day has really only just begun.

> s ❤️

> i'm heading over your way now! sorry i'm a little early lol

> just looking forward to seeing you :)

Oh, Jesus Christ. With the near-constant nightmare that your shift at work was, you'd almost entirely forgotten—you made dinner plans with your boyfriend to eat at your apartment tonight. You know that should excite you, relax you, even, at the thought of seeing him at the end of a long and exhausting day.

Instead, it fills you with nothing but dread.

Your relationship with Seokmin is new—still in that cautious, tip-toeing early phase of dating where you don't really quite know each other yet. You know him, sure—know his name, his phone number, some of his favorite shows and movies and songs, just the same as you know most of these facts about your regular friends. The fact that you do know what the tender, delicate sensation of his lips on yours feels like is the only thing so far that distinguishes him from most of your other casual friendships.

But that's not to say that you don't want to learn more. You do—God, you do. Seokmin is unbelievably funny and sweet (and punctual, you're delighted to learn now). So you'd offered last week for him to stop by your apartment for dinner, telling him he could let himself in with the key underneath the potted plant by your front door. Nothing incredibly complicated—just a dish you've made a million times and that you know you can't possibly screw up (and that you hope might still impress him a little). You'd bought the ingredients on your grocery run over the weekend, so all in all, it should be something you can do with your eyes closed.

Or it would be, at least—if the only thing on your mind now wasn't dropping everything you're currently holding at your front door and collapsing into your bed, ready to sleep off this ridiculously exhausting day. And if you'd been dating Seokmin for longer than you have now, you'd tell him that. Tell him that you need to reschedule your dinner date because the only thing propelling you through this last half hour of work is the thought of getting to be in a coma the minute you set foot in your apartment.

But you haven't been in this relationship for that long—and so you don't quite know how he'd react to that. Would he think you were avoiding him? Think that you were tired of him already? Those thoughts certainly aren't the truth—so you'll just have to put an Oscar-winning performance for a few hours in the hopes that he'll stick around for another (less inwardly painful) dinner date.

And it isn't Seokmin's fault by any means. Certainly not his fault that you're so anxious about the beginning of this relationship, one that seems almost too good to be true, that you've found yourself working overtime to make sure you don't scare him off the first time he sees you under stress like this.

You'll just have to make an effort to plan your next date on a day you're aren't so in your own damn head about everything.

5:03 p.m.

By the time you're finally speeding your way out the door of your office, you're already mentally rehearsing what you need to do to hurry the evening along as quickly as possible but not seem like you don't want Seokmin to be there. The lettuce for your meal has been washed already, so you won't have to worry about that, and there's still leftover rice in the fridge you can serve your entree with—all you need to do is marinate the meat for half an hour and cook. Maybe Seokmin will want to talk about a TV show he's been enjoying and you can steer him away from discussions about work, because you know you won't be able to hide your exhaustion if the conversation lingers there. You can't offer any wine tonight, even if it does pair terribly well with this beef—that will just have to be a next-date plan. If he sticks around.

You're still cycling through your well-crafted lines in your mind as you finally reach your apartment, bracing yourself as you make your way up each stair step, practically holding your breath as your reach your door and turn the doorknob—

The door shuts as you walk in.

He turns to face you. "Y/N!" Seokmin beams, grinning ecstatically like he hasn't seen you in years—that damn smile that fills you with the warmth of the sun itself.

You let go of that breath.

And it isn't all you let go of. Seeing that goddamn stupid smile of his is like the straw that breaks the camel's back—because your bag slips out of your fingers and onto the floor before you even realize it. There's tears welling up at the corners of your eyes, leaving tracks down your cheeks before you even realize you're crying.

But Seokmin realizes. He's rushing out of his seat in an instant, making his way to your side and begging you to tell him what's wrong as he leads you to the couch.

"Look, it's just...I just had a bad day," you admit as you sink into the couch, embarrassment creeping back in to your conscious mind once you feel Seokmin's thumb rubbing over your hand reassuringly. "That's all." Why are you like this? Even now, your first instinct is refusing to let him in—because what if he finally sees how you can really be, and runs away screaming in terror?

His frown deepens. "I don't think it was just a bad day. You can tell me, Y/N—please tell me. If you want to."

The urgency in his voice feels genuine—feels real, in a way that nothing else today has felt. So you do. "It's been nonstop," you tell him, laughing a little through a sniffle. "Like ever since the moment I woke up today, I've been doing something wrong. I was just exhausted when work was over, but I didn't want to cancel this date because we've been planning it for a week to accommodate both our schedules, and I...I like you, Seokmin." There it is—your last card, laid in front of him to examine if he so chooses. "And I would really, really rather not fuck this up."

A soft grin starts tugging up the corners of his lips before he moves to cup both of your cheeks in his soft hands. "I really like you too, you know," he says, laughing a little. And you laugh too—how can you not, when the sound of his voice is enough to set you so simply at ease, enough to practically erase all the earlier worries of the day?  "You haven't fucked anything up. I don't want you to ever feel like you have to prioritize your day over mine—if you're having a bad one, then that's what the two of us can worry about."

Seokmin squeezes your cheeks a little, and the action makes your chest tighten with affection. "I don't want you to feel like you have to put on a performance around me, either. If you've had a bad day, you've had a bad day—and you can tell me about it. I won't put on a performance for you, either. Mostly because I've been told I'm a terrible actor," he informs you, and it pulls another light laugh from you. "And just so you know...I like you too. I like being around you, no matter what. One bad day is never going to change that."

His words are like waves cascading over the sand, washing away whatever had been written there before—but you still can't shake that last itch that refuses to subside. "But I ruined our date."

"What date?" he asks, smirking a little. "I thought we scheduled it for tomorrow. Remember?"

It takes you a moment to understand what he's saying, but when you laugh, it's real—a loud, joyous laugh that leads Seokmin to burst into giggles as well, throwing his arms around you and enveloping you in that comfort that he is. He reminds you that tomorrow will always be there—a promise that you can always try again.

9:48 p.m.

The two of you talk for hours after ordering in dinner, laughing (and crying one more time) about anything that comes to mind. Seokmin was right—you don't have to put on a performance around him to feel comfortable. The conversation feels practically never-ending, which is fine by both of you.

Seokmin makes a move to stand up and leave right before 10:00 pm. You know he's giving you an out for if you still want some time to yourself today.

You reach out a hand to stop him, to make him stay—but you don't even have to say a word before he's taking your hand and sitting right back down in his seat, grinning at your ability to have an entire conversation without words.

11.27 p.m.

By the time you're crawling into bed beside Seokmin, tucking yourself into his side, the exhaustion from your day earlier is finally, finally, catching up with you—you think you're barely conscious when he's leaning over to kiss the crown of your head and humming a soft goodnight.

But it doesn't matter how the day ends, you think. Like Seokmin had said, tomorrow will always be there too—a chance to begin anew. 

a/n: thank you sm for reading! feedback is always welcome through reblogs, comments, and messages 💛 

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