#do not give him the tablet kj | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

twoidiotwriters1 · 5 years ago

Text

Starcrossed Losers XIII (Josh Wheeler xReader)

A/N: I really like making song-fics, so I absolutely loved this. I think this might be sort of a thing that could stay? Feel free to tell me if you like it or not :)

Words: 6,521

Warnings: Cursing and a hint of abusive behavior cause Maya is evil.

Previous chapter // Next chapter

Wesley managed to thrill everyone with the dance and now they’re all helping with the decoration and the stage, which means the pharmacy is all alone cause the kids are too busy to try stupid dares that will harm them and that’s great for me, it means I finally have precious, beautiful free time to rest my wrist properly.

I’m sitting on the garden chair next to Wesley and Josh, above the beds where we usually sleep. Wesley has a tablet on his hands and is selecting songs for the playlist.

Josh and I are chatting about nothing and everything, it’s been two days since we had time to talk and... actually, I think we’ve only had time to talk like one or two times before everything exploded in our faces. Which is not a lot, but it’s enough to make us feel comfortable around each other.

More than comfortable in my case.

“You have any plans for the dance?”

“Like what?”

“Like wearing crazy outfits for the occasion,” Josh insinuates with a little smirk.

“The correct term is cool, not crazy,” I stick out my tongue, “no, I don’t have anything in mind. Why, you got some ideas?”

“I’m not really good with clothes,” He squints, “but I’m sure that whatever you choose to wear will look nice, everything looks nice on you”

“Okay...” I’m unsure of how to reply without crossing a line, I suck at it, so I just end with: “Thanks”

“I-I mean...” Josh suddenly changes his demeanor, like he didn’t mean to say what he’d said, “Not that I’m being weird, it’s just true. You look good, you’re... nice?”

I frown, understanding zero shit of what he was trying to say. I laugh it off and start to play with the bandages on my own hand, messing them up. Josh chuckles lightly and reaches for the loose part of the bandage, fixing it for me.

“So...” Josh speaks up tilting his face a little to the right, now talking to Wesley, “Which are you gonna choose?”

I lean my head so I can see Wes over Josh’s shoulder. He takes longer than expected, raising his head with a funny expression on his face.

“Choose?”

Josh chuckles and finishes up, gently letting go of my wrist he turns around to see our friend.

“Songs!” He points towards the tablet, “For the homecoming dance playlist?”

“This is no mere playlist,” He replies, finally going back to his normal self, “this is no mere homecoming dance do-over.”

He jumps off the platform with Josh going next and landing on the bed. I stand up from the garden chair as well and I stop for a second, stabilizing my body so I can sit on the edge and then jump with the impulse my healthy hand can give me.

I see Josh, waiting in case I need help. I think that’s sweet, but luckily I’m able to do it on my own and he looks really satisfied when I rush over to where they are.

“We rescued these kids from Baron Triumph,” Wesley continues, “this is a Saturnalia to the wonder of life, drinking from the water fountain of youth...”

I laugh under my breath and Josh discretely nudges my arm so I cut it out.

“Tonight, we stare the Grim Reaper in the face and we say,” he raises his left hand as he speaks, “if you like it then you should’ve put a ring on it”

I laugh again, this time Josh and Wes do it too.

“This is the soundtrack of our lives!” Wesley exclaims, taking a drag of his cigarette.

“That sounds like a lot of pressure,” I tell him.

“I can handle a little pressure,” He winks, “if you wanna help, I’ll give you two some privileges since you’re also saviors of these kids. You get to pick one song for the playlist.”

“One song? How generous of you,” I joke.

“Hey that’s more than any of them is getting,” He points at me, “so pick wisely”

“You heard him,” Josh raises a brow, “better get to work”

“Sure thing, boss,” I turn on my heel, moving towards the pharmacy.

I see Eli talking to KJ and I get to hear a bit of the conversation.

“Someone’s gotta make sure you ‘fugees are copacetic. You remember ICE?” He gives KJ his board and opens his hoddie to reveal the print it has, “Well, I’m the new ICE.”

He’s gonna get his ass kicked soon, and at this point, I can’t wait to see it.

“Okay, I need you to sign this oath of allegiance. Basically, you gotta do what I say at all times and you can’t make fun of me behind my back like Dana Rappaport did when I sharted in the third grade... Oh! And also it automatically casts a vote for me as Gender-Neutral Homecoming Royalty.”

KJ gives him the board back with a dick drawn on it and turns around, done with the conversation.

“This counts as a vote!” He exclaims as she walks away.

“Okay but what about making fun of you on your face?” I speak up, smirking, “Cause I have lots to say about your excessive use of bad T-shirts...”

“Hey, my T-shirts are the shit!” Eli replies.

“Sure...” I get to where he is and take the board from his hands, reading the papers, “You know, if you really want to win you have to find a different way to do it cause intimidation won’t work on them. It won’t work for you at all considering how tiny you are.”

“Fuck off, Y/N,” He frowns, “if you’re not gonna vote for me, then step out of the way”

“Who said I wasn’t going to?” I smile.

He stops and turns so fast for a second I think he might have hurt his neck.

“What?”

“Yeah, I think you deserve a victory after all the ass-kicking that we’ve put you through”

“You’re fucking with me”

“This is my way of making peace with you, I don’t wanna fight,” I raise my hands, “if you don’t trust me or don’t want my help, I get it...”

“No!” He looks over his shoulder to where Josh and Wesley are, preparing some stuff on the stage, “Talk now, knock-off Doc.”

“Bet that one gave you lots of satisfaction,” I chuckle, “Whatever... What you should be doing is give the people what they want from a leader: Order, equality, promises. Tell them that if they vote for you they’ll get their own comfy bed and bags of twinkies with chips, we’ll make schedules so they don’t have to worry about looking for stuff on their own once we run out of food...”

“That sounds like a total nerd-campaign”

“It’s a good campaign! Wesley, Josh and I brought them here. Now what? We’re not doing anything for their comfort, that merciful human could be you. You were the one who controlled the mall in the first place, convince them that you still have that power and they’ll vote for you”

“But I don’t have that power anymore, do I?” He asks bitterly, “Not after you assholes took everything from me”

“Maybe. You forget something important: As much as I find you annoying, I’m still the only one that trusts you a little bit, I can talk on your behalf, you can be sure they’ll listen”

Eli seems to think about it, then gives me a curious look.

“Why do you wanna help me?”

“I already told you,” I roll my eyes, “we’re gonna live under the same roof, I want things to be friendly between us. I don’t want any beef with anyone right now...”

As I say it, I catch a glimpse of Maya on the other side of the hall, helping some kids to carry a few sets of tables.

“Fair,” He nods, eyeing me carefully, “but if it doesn’t work-”

“It will,” I finish, patting his shoulder harshly, “get back out there and win tons of fans!”

I continue my way towards the pharmacy and find Alex there. It’s still completely empty except for us. He’s too focused on the book he’s reading to notice me.

“Boo!” I slam my hands against the table and Alex jumps, scared shitless. I let out a loud laugh and step back so he can’t hit me with the book.

“Asshole,” He leaves the book facedown on the counter, “Where were you?”

“With Josh and Wesley, talking about the dance,” I raise a brow, “why aren’t you helping with the decoration?”

“I don’t know, I’m not into it,” he shrugs, “it won’t be the same, you know that right?”

“Of course I do, Mr. Sunshine,” I scoff, “I was against the dance too at first, now... I guess everyone could use a break. We’ve been through a lot these months”

“You’re right about that,” He sighs, “Josh’ still bummed out about Sam?”

I told Alex the whole story, obviously. How Josh and I met, how everything went downhill after that and why I decided to stay. (I let out a tiny detail of the story, which is my stupid crush. He doesn’t need to know about that.) Now he fully understands why I can’t leave. Better yet, he also wants to stay and be part of our little... whatever we are, I still can’t find a proper name for us.

“He tries hard to hide it, but three days aren’t enough to get over someone’s death... If you ask me, I think this dance is kind of therapeutic for him”

“Maybe,” He tells me to move away and when I do he jumps over the counter to my side, grabbing the book and walking with me towards the exit, “You're helping with the planification?”

“I’m more like a back-up,” I smile, “whenever they can’t figure something out they ask me, apparently my creativity is somehow precious around here”

“It always was”

“Aww, that’s cute,” I nudge his arm.

Alex laughs and puts his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer and ruffling my hair. Around us there’s a lot of movement coming from all sides, so no one really pays attention.

“Stop!” I grin, pushing him away, “I take it back, you’re an absolute heathen”

“Wow, careful there, you might hurt my feelings,” Then he asks me “What are your plans for the dance, then?”

“Have fun, try to keep my wrist away from any harm and dance a lot, I guess.”

“You going with any of your new friends?” I’m relieved to hear how friendly the question sounds, yet another confirmation of how things are back at the usual routine between us.

“Well, I didn’t ask...” I frown slightly, “like you said, it’s not like the real homecoming so I was going to assist on my own”

“We should go together!” He offers excitedly, “a way to affirm that our friendship is stronger than ever. What do you say? Should we go to the do-over dance as a platonic couple like the good old days? We could even get matching outfits!”

“Oh, those good old days,” I shake my head, smiling, “sure, why not?”

“Cool!” Alex raises his hand and we high five.

The music blasts on the speaker closest to us and raises its volume quickly, gaining our attention. So do the screams coming from one of the stores at our left. Crumble is there covering her ears and closing her eyes tightly, she seems to be suffering.

“Hang on,” I tell Alex and I walk over to the stage at the same time Angelica rushes out of the store.

“Turn it down! Turn the music down!” She urges them, climbing up the bench.

“Guys!” I scream, “Stop the music!”

I climb beside her and disconnect the speakers.

“Hey!” Josh pouts.

“The ghoulie part of the witch is super sensitive to loud noise,” Explains Angelica in slight exasperation.

“Shit! I was only playing this on chill,” Wesley complains, “I barely got to thumping, What happens when I get to cranking?”

“If you pump up the volume tonight, we’ll be doing the electric slide with a horde of ghoulies,” She says, then jumps down from the bench and goes back to the store.

I do the opposite and finish climbing until I reach the stage.

“Don’t take it personal, you know how important Crumble is to her investigation...”

Wesley gives me a side-eyed look.

“Hard to make the soundtrack of our lives with no soundtrack.”

“Maybe this is a bad idea,” Josh offers, it’s the first time since he found out about the dance that he doesn’t sound optimistic, “recreating what we will never have again...”

I look over at Alex, he reached over to the bench already and is listening. I know he’s thinking how he just said the same thing, but now that he heard it from Josh, it seems like he feels bad about it.

“You’re missing Sam pretty hard...” Mumbles Wesley.

Josh scoffs.

“We were gonna go to the dance together... She was gonna be Homecoming Queen”

I know I shouldn’t let his words get to me, that’s just another reminder of how my feelings are completely onesided, that I’ll be better if I keep my distance with Josh. Safer.

I walk away from their conversation and start to tie the net with balloons that Wesley wants to put above his DJ table, Alex appears again in front of me and hops up to the stage, crouching beside me and helping me.

“You’re okay?” He asks under his breath.

“I’m fine, I don’t know why hearing him talking about Sam gets me down... Maybe he makes me think about Katie too,” I lie, What else can I do?

“How are you dealing with that?” Alex puts his hand on my shoulder as a way of comfort, “Have you talked about it with someone?”

“Yeah,” A bitter smile appears on my face, “with Josh”

“Josh,” He chuckles, “sounds like you got to know each other quite well during these days, even if it was on such short notice”

“I guess we both have things in common”

“Like what?”

“We can’t keep our mouth shut,” I smirk.

Alex laughs and his hand falls from my shoulder, he shakes his head.

“I really missed our talks.”

“I missed them too,” I push him lightly, “don’t get sappy, though. We have a dance coming our way and I need you ready to impress.”

“Enough with the sappy then,” He stands up, finishing the net.

“You can pull it up now!” I speak up to the guy next to the column, he obeys almost instantly, pulling the net above our heads.

“Look at that,” Alex raises a brow, “someone’s learning how to be a leader.”

“Shut up, I’m no leader,” I roll my eyes.

Which reminds me, I still don’t know what’s the answer to that question. Who am I?

Strangely enough, that same question brings out the answer to another thing, and it’s about what Wesley said a few minutes ago:

The soundtrack to our lives.

I love music. I think Wesley is right, music has its own way to tell stories, it helps you get in the moment, attach ideas, make a memory special. That’s how I decide that from now on I’ll attach a song to this... whatever it is that I’m doing. Maybe it won’t be helpful at all but it explains a bit better how I feel during these times.

It is extra? Very. I’m doing it anyway. You better wait for those songs, buddy. Maybe that will also help me pick one for the dance.

When I'm getting off the stage with Alex we run (again) into Wesley and Josh. They were doing their own thing around the platform, but apparently, Wes is leaving.

“...I’m heading out, gotta feed Triumph and Turbo”

“I’ll go with you,” Josh replies.

“I got it,” Wes shrugs, “you use your survival skills to solve this noise issue.”

“I can help you with that,” I say, gaining their attention.

Wesley turns around and smiles.

“I knew I could count on you, Y/N,” He winks before heading out.

Josh looks at me with a small smile, then before Wesley leaves, his eyes widened slightly, something just came up to him.

“Hey, uh...” He turns back to Wesley, “What about Mastermind by Delton 3030 for the soundtrack?”

Wes nods, a knowing smile on his face.

“Right? Yeah?” Josh turns around, quite pleased with himself.

“Is that the song you’re gonna go with?” I smirk.

“Well, it was either that or... uh, one that’s a bit too much for the occasion, I think”

“Really?” I raise my eyebrows, “Which one?”

“No,” He blushes, “don’t push”

“You guys are making the playlist?” Alex asks.

“Wesley let us pick one song for the playlist. Only us,” I shrug, “because we saved your asses”

“Josh was the savior, you were only around.”

“She helped,” Josh replies, standing next to me and putting an arm around my shoulders, “she gave me a motivational speech before the fight, so... uh, yeah.”

“What a great comeback,” I tease him, “I still get to pick a song and you don’t so I’m winning.”

“Rude,” Alex huffs, “anyway if you guys need help let me know, I’ll be around”

“Sure,” I nod.

“See ya,” Josh waves, then he looks down at me, “don’t pick a song yet?”

“It’s been like thirty minutes since he told us, I need more time”

“I already chose”

“Tell me what was your second option, c’mon” I try to tickle him but he moves away.

“No!” He laughs, “It’s a dumb song”

“No song is dumb. Unless is like, a sexual song. The misogynistic type of song you know? Or a kids’ song, the ones that only have like one line that repeats itself over and over for two minutes-”

“Okay!” Josh interrupts me, “If you find a way to fix the noise problem I’ll tell you”

“I’m in,” I nod, shaking his hand in an overdramatic way that makes him laugh, “I’m so gonna win”

“Is not a competition,” He clarifies.

“It is now,” I wink at him, starting to walk away.

“Why do you have to be so annoying about stuff like this?” He pouts, “Y/N, where are you going?”

“I’m gonna fix the noise problem!” I speak up, already turning my back to him.

I decide to go with the genius of our little group.

“Not a clue, ask someone else,” Angelica tells me as soon as I ask her.

“Come on!” I scowl, “You could help! You just don’t wanna do it cause it’s not fun”

“Exactly.”

I hear a skateboard passing by and thinking it’s Josh, I turn around to tell him to convince Angelica. Only that is not Josh, it’s KJ. She’s using Josh’s skate though.

“Where did she get that?” I ask, turning back to Angelica.

“I gave it to her,” She shrugs.

“You gave-? Josh is going to kill you if he finds out”

“He’ll find out, that’s the point,” She rolls her eyes, “I want to set KJ and Josh together”

“You what?” I ask, accidentally kicking the table.

“So he forgets about Sam and stays with us,” Angelica replies matter-of-factly.

“He’s already with us,” I say, “Why would you do something like that? You can’t force him into another relationship!”

“Why do you care so much? It’s not like you care?” Although she’s got her back facing me, I know she’s smiling.

“Oh,” I whisper, stepping closer to her, “I know what you’re doing, you little creep”

“Do you?”

“You’re not trying to set them up, you’re trying to see if I get jealous!” I whisper-yell, “You think you’ll manage to get something out of this?”

“I will,” She turns around, satisfaction all over her face, “I just have to see the ridiculous doe-eyes you make whenever Josh does as little as brushing his fingers with yours to know you wanna get in his pants. Which means you’re staying as long as he stays. Which means I was right and you can die mad about it.”

“You’re not,” I hiss, “I don’t want to get in his pants and I can leave anytime. I chose to stay cause-”

“You like him. Don’t even try to convince me otherwise, I remember how you used to act around him the first day and I see how you act now, is not hard to see. I won’t tell him... but-”

“No but,” I cut her out, “I won’t play your games.”

“You guys look cute together! You’re equally dumb and cheesy!”

“See that’s rude,” I frown, “So what if we have things in common? He’s hurting, if I date him now I’m just the rebound, I’m not desperate enough to agree to that”

“What if he likes you back? What if he wants to be with you right now? The only thing stopping him it’s that he thinks you’re with that guy you hang out with, or that he thinks you’ll say he’s an asshole for not waiting longer to end his mourning?”

“Does he?” I cross my arms.

“I don’t know,” Angelica replies carelessly, “I could find out if you want.”

“This is stupid,” I shake my head, “let it go, okay An? We’re here and I promise we won’t go, at least for a while. You can live with that, right?”

“I can’t. I need results, not sappy promises,” She says dryly, “and KJ and Josh are the fastest way to get them if you’re so reluctant to give it a try cause you’re a coward. Step aside and let me take care of this.”

“You know what?” I reply harshly, “Do whatever you want, the only thing you’ll do is push Josh and me even further away from you”

I hold my anger as best as I can. I remind myself that Angelica’s a scared kid, she needs to feel safe. I understand why my tendency to be impulsive annoys her. Maybe she feels like she can’t count on me. That kinda hurts, if I’m honest.

It’s not really her fault, one day soon she’ll see she doesn’t need to play with our minds for us to stay with her and she’ll stop.

I’m officially upset though, so I go to the second floor to get my skates and have a little fun around the mall.

I make sure no one sees me. Technically, I’m not allowed to skate because I could worsen my wrist, but I think I’ll be fine. It’s a mall, nothing dangerous.

While I’m putting them on, back on the first floor, Maya walks up to me and throws a piece of paper.

“What’s this crap?”

“Glendale. I was looking at the map and I realized there’s this small corner at the limits of the city where no one goes cause it used to be the place where gangs lived but now is empty. There’s a mansion-”

“The mansion’s fucked. Josh used to live there, the giant pug ruined it”

“Of fucking course,” She rolls her eyes, “are you sure he’s telling the truth?”

“Why wouldn’t he?” I look up at her.

“Maybe he said that so you wouldn’t go there to steal his resources”

“Why would I even think of stealing his stuff? I have my own,�� I reply, completely disinterested, “Listen just stop, okay? I’m not going.”

“You’re wasting your time here,” She kneels in front of me so she’s at my eye level, “so is Alex. When they get tired of you, they’ll kick you out with a dumb excuse and... and then you’ll be sorry you didn’t take my offer.”

I’m about to reply when I see a hint of fright in her eyes. Along with something I hadn’t seen before: desperation.

“It’s you who is sorry,” I finally understand why is she so obsessed with getting us back, “you didn’t leave the tribe to look for adventure, they kicked you out didn’t they?”

She stammers, stepping back from where I’m sitting.

“N-No! I got bored of their rules! That’s it!”

“You never learned to play by the rules, that’s true,” I half-smile, “but that’s what it’s like to be part of a tribe, Maya. You have to follow the rules and be a good team player”

“They never appreciated my skills!” She replies bitterly, “they threw me with the rest instead of having me in their front lines!”

“That’s because you are like the rest! Like me and Alex! The only ability you have is the ability to keep relationships for your convenience...”

“I don’t have anything to prove to you,” She snarls, “the main loser of our former group. Ha! Like you could do anything to get to me.”

“Very welI then, better keep my mouth shut,” I stand up with my skates tightly laced on my feet, “if you excuse me...”

I leave the store, I turn right on the hall and I see KJ on the other side, she’s using a different skateboard so I assume she already ran into Josh.

That’s not what gets my attention, what makes me stop is the set of headphones she’s using: No cords. I make my way towards her and touch her shoulder, signaling her to take off the headphones.

“Sorry, it’s just that I noticed your headphones and I wanted to ask you something...”

She replies in Chinese and I interrupt her.

“KJ, I know you can speak English I heard you talking with Burr on your first day of school”

She gives me a stern look and shakes her head. After I insist, she sighs heavily.

“What do you want, Y/N?”

I smile, happy of how I always noticed this kind of silly stuff back in school.

“Your headphones,” I say, “we have a problem with the music. Crumble can’t stand loud noises and neither can’t the Ghoulies outside the mall, so they’ll try to murder us if we blast the speakers. You know if there’s a way to connect a bunch of headphones to a single dispositive?”

“Maybe,” She tilts her head, deep in thought, “I can try to figure it out, later though, right now I’m skating”

“That’s okay,” I point to my skates, “cool if I join you?”

“Sure,” She looks at my wrist, “but no talking. I don’t want the guys blaming me in case you get hurt”

“I’m fine,” I roll my eyes, “let’s go”

I’m happy to see my skills are intact, I turn and jump without falling (my knee is much better now, thank you very much) I skate backwards and I don’t crash against anything. KJ is amused and is looking at me with a tiny smirk while she keeps on skating without showing off. Am I showing off? Yeah, a little. I really missed my skates and I’m proud of all the things I learned on my own.

After a while, I hear another set of wheels and when I look over to my right I see Josh. He tries to look upset because he caught me skating, but a smile makes its way out. He shakes his head and speaks up.

“Having fun?”

“I had missed this,” I nod, “it’s a crime to have these beauties collecting dust”

“It will also be a shame if you hurt yourself more and can’t go to the dance” He adds in what it tries to be an innocent tone.

“You say that like you’re not as dumb,” I reply, “between you and me, who has the most injuries inflicted by their own hand?”

“I... think that’s me,” He scoffs, “fine, I’ll leave you alone.”

I look at KJ and she’s trying to hide a smile, I wink in complicity and keep skating in silence.

Something funny happens, I start humming this really corny song I was obsessed with a few years ago. I have no idea why it comes back to me right at this moment, I assume it’s cause I used to hear it a lot whenever Alex took me on one of his skate rides.

It’s a good song and it’s a nice moment to introduce you to the soundtrack of my life. There you go.

Y/N from a year ago always thought that I would sing this to Alex on one of our dates, which is kind of ironic cause the song it’s pretty much about this dude in denial about loving someone who he knows is not the one but he’s so desperate to have, that ignores it all just to have her.

Music is funny like that. I never stopped liking this song, even after I realized what the lyrics said. Now I’m here, my mind is already giving the lyrics a new meaning. One that takes me to Josh.

So when I discretely move over to Josh’s side, I stretch my hand out to him with a teasing smile. I expect him to roll his eyes and push my hand away, instead, he holds it. It’s like someone turned up the sound inside my brain.

“Put your hand in mine You know that I want to be with you all the time You know that I won't stop until I make you mine You know that I won't stop until I make you mine Until I make you mine...”

I know, I know. This is so ridiculous that there’s no way it’s actually happening. Well, the part about the song isn’t. The music is not really playing, I added the song in my head. I hum without saying anything to Josh, I hold his hand and both of us have this dopey smile cause we know we look silly and someone could easily tease us if they see us holding hands and skating together. We do it anyway.

I don’t know why he does it but I do it because it’s stupid and cute and it makes me giggle like an idiot. It’s been a while since I felt this, so I decide to give in for a brief moment, I don’t have to look badass or cool all the time anyway.

‘What about Sam?’ You ask with tons of worry. Don’t get all stressed, I’m just fooling around, this doesn’t mean I’m making a move. I’m just enjoying our time together. Besides, Josh seems happy, if he were acting uncomfortable I would immediately retreat my hand and apologize.

I respect his decision and that means I only do the things he lets me do. You know, consent and stuff. If he needs more time to recover I’m willing to wait... Not that I’m waiting to make a move. Of course, I’m just saying that- I mean, if there’s ever a slight chance, I wouldn’t refuse- ugh, nevermind.

“...You need to know We'll take it slow I miss you so We'll take it slow...”

“Hey,” His grip on my hand tightens for a moment to get my attention, “what were you doing with KJ?”

“Oh,” I smile, remembering I have news for him, “fun story... I saw her when I was getting ready to skate and I noticed she had her headphones on...”

Josh looks over to her for a few seconds and jerks up, turning back at me with an excited smile.

“I thought of something”

“What?”

“Hold on,” He releases my hand and moves over to KJ’s side.

As soon as he’s over there, KJ moves slightly to the right and I look forward, noticing the janitor’s cart in the middle of the way.

“Shit,” I whisper, now also moving to KJ’s side to try to prevent the accident.

I’m too late. Josh is way ahead of me and he stops in the last second, crashing and falling.

“Josh!” I stop a few feet away, waiting for his reaction, “Dude, are you okay?”

“Ugh, yeah I’m fine,” He grunts.

“I’m dying to point out how you said I was going to be the one injuring herself when you just broke your own record of self-inflicted wounds but I’m truly worried about your state so I won’t say anything”

“Thank you for not mentioning that,” He pushes himself up and looks around, “fuck, that thing came out of nowhere”

“No, I’m pretty sure it was there before,” I offer a hand, he takes it with a grumpy expression, “cheer up! You were telling me about how you just realized something when I was telling you about KJ”

“What? Oh! Right,” Josh smirks, then he grabs his skateboard and adds, “you’ll find out soon enough”

“Oh darlin', darlin', baby, you're so very fine You know that I won't stop until I make you mine Until I make you...”

With that, he skates away and I decide to catch up with KJ. When I reach her I poke her arm and she takes off her headphones.

“Yes?”

“Can we start with the headphones now?”

She looks over to the watch on her wrist and nods.

“Let me change first, I’ll see you in the main hall.”

“See you,” I turn over to go back to the pharmacy.

I find a whole scene when I get there: Maya is going from one side to the other, fucking up all the work Alex and I made during the whole week. She’s pushing boxes and bottles, searching frantically for something.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I ask loudly.

“She’s looking for a knife,” Alex says, he’s at the counter with his arms crossed and looking like he’s dying to kick her face, “she thinks you took it”

“She was the last person I talked to, of course she has it,” She points to me, “Where is it?”

“I don’t have your knife,” I reply calmly, “I have my own weapon”

“A fucking hammer,” She states, “obviously is not as good”

“Fuck off,” I scoff.

“You fuck off,” She walks up to me, “first you tell me you don’t want to come, then you steal my stuff?”

“How are you so sure it was me? There’s like forty people in here”

I see Angelica curiously peeking through the entrance, I remember how she threatened to do something if Maya ever tried to fight me, so I try to finish the conversation before Angelica gets involved.

“You know what, I don’t have to prove anything to you,” I repeat her words, “I don’t have your knife. Period. Now-”

“Is this your knife?” I hear Angelica behind me.

I turn around to see her holding a purple pocket knife.

“How did you..?”

“You little rat!” Maya walks over to her and starts to pour her anger and frustration onto Angelica, “didn’t your parents teach you to ask before taking things from others?”

“Calm down,” Angelica frowns, “you sound like a fifty year-old virgin”

“Give it back!” Maya snatches the pocket knife from Angelica’s hand.

My friend hisses and I see her hug her hand tightly against her chest. It’s the first time I see that look, she’s scared.

I’ve had enough.

“Get out,” I say coldly.

“What?” Maya turns around, frowning.

“Get out of our mall.”

“You can’t-”

“You have no self-control and you use any excuse to insult people. You can scream at me as much as you want, but I won’t allow you to scream or touch Angelica like that ever again.”

I grab the backpack that I’m sure it’s hers and I extend it to her, waiting.

“Who the fuck do you think you are to just kick people out of the mall like it belongs to you?” She asks, refusing to take the backpack.

She’s being so loud that a few kids are staring now.

It comes to me as I stand there, in the middle of the pharmacy with two people that I care about deeply. To be honest, I feel a bit dumb about not realizing sooner.

“I’m the healer,” I reply, “you injured An’s hand. My duty is to make sure she won’t get hurt again so I make sure by kicking you out. How’s that for a contribution, huh?”

“That’s not what I’d meant...” She mumbles.

“Doesn’t matter,” I throw the backpack to her feet, “you have twenty minutes, take enough stuff so you can make it on your own for a while and go”

“You’re gonna let her do this?” She asks, this time looking over at Alex.

“You heard the boss,” Alex replies, indifferent, “good luck out there”

Maya gives me one last glare before turning on her heels and walking away in indignation. I let out a heavy sigh, I suspect that during that whole exchange I wasn’t breathing.

Angelica gets closer to me and I look down at her hand.

“Let’s fix that,” I point to her hand.

“That was really badass,” She replies, “I’m sorry I called you a coward, I hope you’re not angry about it”

“I’m not, you were sort of right about it. I am a coward when it comes to... you know, admitting my feelings”

I see how her eyes light up at my statement as we walk over to the counter.

“I’m right? You like-”

“Shhh!” I search for Alex and I find him leaning over some boxes, he’s not paying attention to our talk, “Yes, you are. Promise me you won’t say anything, not even to Wesley!”

“Why not?”

“If something happens I want it to be because he wants it, not because you two forced him into dating me, that’d be embarrassing for both of us, understand?”

“Fine,” She picks a box of bandaids and hands it to me, “but you should definitely go with him to the dance, I bet you’d have fun.”

“I can’t,” Before she starts to complain about how I don’t have the guts, I add: “I already told Alex I’d go with him.”

“What?” She frowns, “You said you didn’t like him!”

“I don’t! This was our way to say ‘hey, everything’s okay between us now, we’re friends again”

“When you fix things with a friend you give them something, like a gift,” She complains, “you don't cock-block them!”

“He’s doesn’t know!” I grumble, “Don’t worry, I don’t have to try anything right now, remember how he’s still sad about Sam?”

“About that... after you left he came to the store and I asked him stuff”

“About what?”

“Sam, KJ (and yes, he’s not into it, shut up) and... about you”

I try to keep my hands as steady as possible while I put the bandaid.

“And?”

“Since you’re so scandalized about making a move before a proper period of mourning, I’ll keep it to myself,” She smirks.

“Traitor,” I mumble, finishing my work and standing up, “get out of my pharmacy before I kick you out as well”

“As you wish, all-mighty Healer,” She teases, bowing before me.

I like how it sounds. Not the ‘all-mighty’ thing, but the last part.

Y/N L/N: The Healer.

Taglist.

@letsbloodmagic @slythermyg

#twoidiots writing #daybreak fanfic #eli cardashyan #daybreak #josh wheeler #josh wheeler xreader #angelica green #ms crumble #wesley fists #netflix

44 notes · View notes

junker-town · 5 years ago

Text

Seahawks-49ers was a beautiful mess that taught us nothing

Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images

It was ugly. It was beautiful. It didn’t tip its hand as to the rematch in Week 17.

Week 10’s NFC West showdown between the Seahawks and 49ers didn’t make much sense.

A beleaguered defensive line created havoc all night en route to five sacks and a fumble return touchdown. The league’s current MVP favorite threw a back-breaking interception in the red zone in overtime. A rookie kicker, signed off the street as a free agent a week earlier, inspired all sorts of confidence ... then shanked it all away.

The four-plus quarters of the Seahawks’ overtime triumph over the previously undefeated 49ers created its own narratives, then cast them aside in a sloppy mass of chaotic football that will stand as one of 2019’s most memorable games. Seattle won a 27-24 rock fight in Santa Clara, but the end result didn’t do much to dent a Niners team ravaged by injury in advance of its biggest game of the season to date.

It looked like San Francisco would cruise to a statement-making home win after taking an early 10-0 lead against a Seattle team that gained five net yards in the first quarter. The Seahawks, never content to play an easy game regardless of their place on the scoreboard, roared back in very Seahawk fashion. By the time Jason Myers’ 42-yard field goal cleared the goalposts to end the game in overtime, the win probability chart the two teams left behind looked like a seismograph atop a tectonic shift:

Wow. Game of the Year so far. Win Probability Chart for 2019 Week 10: @Seahawks at @49ers with data courtesy @nflscrapR #NFL #SEAvsSF pic.twitter.com/szpqZyv8Ho

— Lee Sharpe (@LeeSharpeNFL) November 12, 2019

Nothing really went as planned Monday. And it’s probably not going to give us much insight on the next time these two teams play in Week 17. Here’s why.

The Seahawks couldn’t hold on to the damn ball

Seattle had fumbled 13 times in nine games leading up to Week 10 — a 1.4 fumble per contest rate. San Francisco had forced 13 fumbles in eight games in the same span (1.6 per contest). On a typical day, even against a solid defense like the Niners’, the Seahawks might be expected to put the ball on the turf one or two times.

On Monday, the Seahawks did it five times — including twice on one play. A Russell Wilson fumble ended up in the hands of offensive lineman Germain Ifedi, then ended up in the hands of DeForest Buckner. Buckner returned it 12 yards for a touchdown that kicked off the Niners’ fourth-quarter comeback from an 11-point deficit.

TWO forced fumbles leads to the @DeForestBuckner TOUCHDOWNNNNN. #GoNiners pic.twitter.com/pu5FOmv5Qo

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) November 12, 2019

That wasn’t the only slip-up that cost the Seahawks points. One DK Metcalf fumble at the goal line cost Seattle an important scoring opportunity at the end of the second half. While Jadeveon Clowney’s fumble return touchdown helped level that advantage, that lack of ball security is typically damning for an offense. Teams with four or more turnovers in a game are 42-326-1 in regular season games since 2010.

Wilson setting up an Ifedi fumble wasn’t even his biggest miscue. The MVP frontrunner doubled his interception total for the season when he underthrew a potential game-ending touchdown pass to Jacob Hollister by a matter of inches. That allowed Dre Greenlaw to make what could have been the biggest play of the night:

BIG. PLAY. DRE ‼️@DreGreenlaw comes up BIG in OT! #GoNiners pic.twitter.com/cgDtrtBb5T

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) November 12, 2019

It didn’t pay off. Instead, Greenlaw watched his offense drive only 20 yards on the ensuing possession and fail to generate the points that would have ensured a 9-0 start for San Francisco.

The Niners’ passing game couldn’t keep up

One of the biggest questions about San Francisco’s rise to the top of the NFC was what the team was capable of in situations where it was forced to throw the ball. An 8-0 start left few opportunities for Jimmy Garoppolo to practice his two-minute drill. On Monday, he’d have to do so without All-Pro tight end George Kittle.

Kittle, sidelined by a pair of lower leg injuries Monday, had 25 more targets than the next-closest player on the 49ers roster. His sure-handed presence in the middle of the field was sorely missed. The club’s aerial offense flopped without him — and several other key players:

Emmanuel Sanders, extremely not-washed at age 32 (he had 112 receiving yards in his first game with the Niners), left the game after two big catches due to a rib injury. Marquise Goodwin and Dante Pettis, two players who started the season atop the San Francisco WR depth chart, dropped multiple passes and finished the game with zero receptions. This left the keys to the passing game in the hands of rookie Deebo Samuel, WR4 Kendrick Bourne, and backup tight end Ross Dwelley.

The team also dealt with injuries that chipped away at its offensive line. Tackle Mike McGlinchey was limited in practice through the week with a knee malady, and that rust was evident throughout the night. The 49ers were also without starting center Weston Richburg, who left the game early with a hand injury. That left Ben Garland to flail hopelessly at blown assignments in his place:

Tomlinson slid and blocked his man, Garland either thought he had more help than he did or just got beat. Either way, he was the failure point. Backup center! pic.twitter.com/8J9NmyAXby

— James Brady (@JamesBradySBN) November 12, 2019

Garoppolo, a tick off with both his accuracy and his timing, couldn’t overcome those mounting handicaps. While he put his team in position to win the game late, he was lucky to escape with just one interception Monday night.

KJ Wright has some extreme linebacker hands pic.twitter.com/9lYh38O7Ph

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 12, 2019

Still, this all almost worked out!

A rookie kicker, subbing in for a Pro Bowler, nearly saved the day

Robbie Gould had been a constant positive in the San Francisco kicking game the past two seasons. He made 96 percent of his field goals between 2017 and 2018, the highest rate in the league. However, he’d been uncharacteristically inaccurate through the first half of 2019 — his seven misses were more than he’d had the past three seasons combined — and was unavailable for the 49ers’ biggest game of the year (so far) thanks to a quadriceps injury.

Enter Chase McLaughlin, who signed with San Francisco just four days earlier. McLaughlin, just one of six active alumni from the University of Illinois, had been discarded by the Bills, Vikings, and Chargers earlier this year. While he’d made 13 of his 16 kicks as a fill-in for Michael Badgley in Los Angeles, he was far from a sure bet.

So, because this game was weird in every phase of the game, he went out and drilled field goals from 43, 39, and 47 yards — the last of which tied the game at 24-all with just one second left in the fourth quarter. This was an epic effort from a young kicker with plenty to prove. And with one last kick, he’d undo much of the confidence he’d inspired through the first 60 minutes of the game.

Greenlaw’s interception and Garoppolo’s ensuing 20-yard drive gave McLaughlin the chance to up his hero bonafides with one more long kick. Instead, his potential game-winner wound up here:

Um.... this is not where the ball is supposed to go. pic.twitter.com/Ie5EfA9Mq8

— Jennifer Lee Chan (@jenniferleechan) November 12, 2019

That tunnel is past the corner of the end zone. McLaughlin missed his desired landing spot by roughly 40 yards. That’s bad! Three drives later, Seahawk kicker Jason Myers pushed a 42-yard kick through the uprights to win the game.

The first installment of Seahawks-49ers answered some questions about what each team is capable of against top-notch competition from within their own division. Seattle is up to the challenge of plugging up San Francisco’s potent rush game and forcing Garoppolo to beat them. The Niners proved they can frustrate Wilson into a below-average game behind their crushing defensive front.

But much of the game turned on outlier trends and plays that probably won’t happen when these teams meet again. San Francisco can take solace in the returns of Kittle, Gould, and full-strength efforts from Sanders, Richburg, and McGlinchey (among others). Seattle knows it probably won’t triple its fumble rate in a single game again. The tablet will be wiped clean when these sides meet again in Week 17.

If it’s anything like the first showdown between these two, it’ll probably find a way to get weird anyway.

0 notes