#emerson fanfic

[gracieheartspedro]

Miss Possessive

pairing: rockstar!eddie munson x fem! reader x rockstar!gareth emerson

part 1 (if you want context)

word count: 5.4k words

description: you cannot help but be possessive over your boyfriends... wait no, boyfriend. just your boyfriend. not his best friend.

warnings: 18+ content, MDNI, no use of y/n, rockstar au, all participates are 18+, mentions of alcohol and substances, reader is established as eddie's girlfriend, gareth has crush on reader, reader is jealous of every girl and pretty damn mean, voyeurism, drunk sex, gareth is really there just to watch, public sex, dry humping, tons of dirty talk, spanking, fingering, rough unprotected sex, name calling, face grabbing, multiple orgasms, light choking, possessive eddie, creampie, angst at the end

authors note: i listened to miss possessive by tate mcrae too many times. sorry.

how to help palestine ~ dividers by @cafekitsune

“Another tequila soda, sweetheart?”

Your eyes trail up Eddie’s form, your slightly tipsy mind taking in every inch of his outfit. It is not clubbing attire in the slightest, but rockstars did not need to fit into the crowd of half-naked dancing drunks. A small smile creeps across his knowing face as he leans over the table, his face inches from yours. 

Eddie could read you in every situation, and he knows what’s playing in your brain at this very moment. 

You want him so bad. 

The insatiable desire you have felt with him since joining him and Corroded Coffin on tour has taken over your entire being. You can not keep your hands off him. When he’s near, you have to have your hands somewhere on him. Wrapped around his waist, gripping onto his hands and arms as you walked into venues, and even when he was sitting and talking to people, you would lazily wrap your arms around his neck and shoulders from behind. 

You wanted his attention and he did a very good job of indulging. 

And then there was Gareth. 

Him joining the mix was unexpected and you anticipated it to be awkward the next day, but he treated you the same way he always did. Sweet, polite, and always looking out for you in some way. 

There had been times that you could count on one hand when he would eye you a certain way when you wore a tight skirt. Or a slight touch he would press on your lower back when trying to shimmy by you on the tour bus. But nothing ever crossed that strict line in the sand that Eddie drew out for him. 

Eddie did not say anything else about it after that night, simply putting it behind him like it never even happened. You sometimes believe you mocked it up, and it was all just a dream. 

A very hot dream.

“See somethin’ you like?” He asks teasingly as you rub your glossed lips together, distracted by your own thoughts. 

You brush your nose across his, humming your response. “Mhm…”

He presses a kiss to your lips, his tongue swiping across your upper lip to taste your cherry-flavored gloss. You push onto his collarbones, pulling away. He furrows his brows under his swept bangs. “What?”

“Best behavior tonight, remember? We were advised by your manager to not draw too much attention…”

The mid-week meeting consisted of Corroded Coffin’s management targeting public displays of affection that were a bit too graphic to be on the front page of tabloids. So what if Eddie wanted to squish your ass when you two walked around LA, shopping for lingerie? He is not supposed to have a pristine record, he’s a fucking guitarist in a heavy metal band.

As aggravated as you were about it all, you did not want to step on toes. You told them you two would scale it back, much to Eddie’s chagrin. He wanted to tell them to piss off, but ruffling feathers when they were about to drop their sophomore album was not a great idea. 

Eddie nods, pressing a quick kiss to your lips again. “Lemme get us a refill.”

The moment he leaves, Gareth returns to the booth, a pretty blonde thing in tow. You had been watching him make his way through the dance floor all night with Grant. He stood out like a sore thumb, just like Eddie. His raggedy t-shirt and black jeans did not scream lady killer, but you spotted him touching on plenty of girls as he danced with them to sped-up pop songs. 

His girl’s dress was much tighter than yours, her makeup exaggerated, but her hair was perfectly placed on her head, almost like it was a wig. It never moved, even when Gareth slung his arm over her shoulders. 

You sucked up the last bit of your drink, your gaze wandering to the way Gareth rubs small circles into her bare shoulder. A pang of something rushes over your body, and you suddenly feel repulsed by the view of them. 

She must feel your eyes burning into her because she finally flicks her bright blue eyes at you. 

“You are Eddie’s girl, aren’t you?”

Her voice immediately pisses you off. You straighten your spine, leaning over the booth. The dress you decided to wear tonight was a bit too short so the moment you extend your body, you feel the back side of it rise to your mid-buttcheek. 

“The one and only.”

Gareth chuckles at your dryness, turning his gaze towards the bar where Eddie is grabbing your refill and another whiskey straight for himself. You bite the inside of your cheek as the girl’s face lights up at your response. 

“He’s a pretty boy, ain’t he?” She almost questions, even though she knows the answer. From what you can read about this girl from the two shared sentences, she seems to think she’s untouchable. She’s seated next to the drummer of the most popular metal band in the world, she must be the most divine being in the seedy club the boys were insistent on coming to. From her dress, you can tell she spends a pretty penny on her nightclub looks. She thinks she’s hot shit, just by the way she’s leaning back over the table to talk to you. 

She is only asking the question because she wants to test you. See if she can get under your skin. 

You cock your head to the side, condescendingly. “Who are you again?”

“Mad-”

“Right, whatever your name is, I suggest you don’t talk to me like we are friends.”

Gareth is taken aback immediately, and suddenly, you both start speaking your own language with glances. You tap your nails, waiting for Gareth’s friend to respond to you, but she’s rendered speechless. You watch as her hand crosses her own lap and goes to Gareth’s, almost like she’s waiting for him to reprimand you. 

He doesn’t. His eyes are trained on the way your face twinges. He knows you can handle yourself.

Her touches are so aggressive, it sends your head spinning. You had been watching Gareth dance on other girls all night, but when it is the girl initiating the behavior, the jealousy creeps across your skin. You cannot pull your gaze away from where her hand rests on him. 

“I don’t wanna step on any toes-” Her voice is unsteady, trying to remain calm under your deadly glare. You tap your long nails on the marble table top before you bring your hand up in a stop gesture. 

“Then don’t. Keep your eyes off of him.”

Gareth cannot help the smirk that spreads across his face the moment you hush her. He was not expecting you to be so brutal to the girl, but it is very reminiscent of when you took control of his sexual encounter with that groupie on the tour bus. 

You had a dominant streak. Which was so hot.

Eddie places your glass directly in front of you, sliding next to you in the booth. Perfect timing.

The girl’s pupils dilate the moment she looks at him, causing that pit in your stomach to grow and spread through your body. 

If looks could kill, you would be wanted for the murder of some random Valley Girl. 

Eddie looks at Gareth questioningly, but he just shrugs in response. 

You reel in your resting face, finally smiling and straightening your head towards the girl. “Where did I say to keep those eyes, hun?”

Her face drops the moment you yell over the music, “I’m sorry?”

“Where did I tell you to keep your eyes?” You hassle her with the smile painted on your face, which only adds to the fear spreading across her face. The sudden uncertainty and lack of confidence spilling out of her fills your chest with unbridled joy. “My boyfriend. Are you looking at him?”

She tries to scrape together a sentence, but her bright pink pout spills out jumbled words. “I-I have e-eyes.”

“I-I,” You mock, “Yeah, you should use them and look somewhere else. Maybe the floor, or the ceiling, or anywhere but the people at this booth.”

Eddie’s eyes widen, his hand gripping your thigh under the table. At the same time, his elbow nudges your side, trying to grab your attention. But you are lasered in on her, and in a beat, on Gareth. 

He looks mystified by your words, his bottom lip slightly parted from his upper. 

It’s the same expression he gave you when he told you to keep your eyes open when was making that groupie cum on his cock weeks ago. 

You had to admit, the alcohol was making you bold, but the moment he made eyes at you, something switched inside you. You realize you needed his attention, too. He was yours for the taking.

The girl glances over at Gareth the moment he licks his lips at you. 

You finally look away while he deals with the girl’s inquiries, your eyes finally looking up at your boyfriend. His jaw is slack, his hand still tightened on your bare thigh. The brown in his eyes looks so dark, even when the flashing lights swoop over his face. You could tell he was not happy with the exchange with Gareth just moments before. 

You grab your drink, squeezing the lime into the clear cocktail, trying to distract yourself from looking at Gareth across the booth. Eddie’s eyes are locked on the side of your face; you can sense him. 

His breath fans your neck and earlobe out of nowhere. “Are you insane?”

The lime juice drops down your fingers as you clench it between your pointer and thumb. Your face twitches at his question, unsure if a response would get you in more trouble. 

You drop the lime in the drink and use the straw to swirl it around. You lick your fingers clean, letting the sourness of the lime settle on your taste buds.

You were usually pretty possessive of Eddie, especially with random girls backstage at shows. You were never fond of watching them touch him, flirt with him, and in some cases, just look at him in certain ways. But it was a part of the job, so you would suck it up and hours later make him fuck you while he repeated that he was all yours and no one else’s. 

The girl started talking about Eddie first, which already did not sit right with you. When the excitement spread across her face when he sat back down, you physically could not help yourself.

But Gareth? 

Why were you making eyes at him? Why were you disgusted watching him cuddled up with this girl? Was it just because it was her, or was it something else entirely?

You bring the straw to your lips and take a sip before finally replying to Eddie. 

“I don’t like the way she talks about you.” You peer at her now practically hidden face as you say it. She is positioning her face in Gareth’s curls, whispering something in his ear. His arm is no longer behind her shoulders as his hands are now folded over the table in contemplation. Eddie’s palm rubs up your thigh, dangerously high. 

Your face twitches when his fingers grope your inner thigh, the coldness of his rings sending goosebumps across your skin. You take another sip of your drink, slurping it a bit, which catches Gareth’s attention. 

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Gareth’s voice is crackling a bit; not sure if he can get away with calling you by a nickname. Eddie’s motions completely halt when he hears his bandmate’s question. 

It must have been the girl’s tipping point because her eyes roll to the back of her head. She grips the edge of the table and slides away from Gareth, her high heels clacking against the concrete floors of the club as she practically runs from the table. 

“What the fuck is going on? What did I just walk into?” Eddie interrogates, his eyes flickering between you and Gareth. You start to bounce your leg and take your bottom lip between your teeth. 

Eddie knows when you are lying, so that was out of the question. 

“Your girl likes to drive other girls away from me, it seems,” Gareth states, flicking his curls a bit out of his face.

He leans over the table, his long silver chain dragging across the table. Your mind instantly starts to imagine it dangling above you-

Eddie slaps your thigh, demanding your attention. “Why?”

You do not have an actual reasonable explanation for him, so you put your drink down on the table and shrug. 

“Just looking out for my boys.”

You shift yourself in the booth to face Eddie. His hand slips off your thigh and your dress rides up completely over your ass, onto your hips. You can hear Gareth scoff across the table, his presence pulling back to lean against the cushion of the booth. Eddie’s eyes widen at your response and you can tell you did not answer correctly. You were testing boundaries with Eddie, but your drunk self did not quite grasp that and the possible consequences. You were honest, at least. 

“Your boys?”

The suddenness of Eddie’s next movements makes you yelp. He manhandles you onto his lap, wedging you between his chest and the large sprawling table. You are still facing Gareth, but your arms are locked behind your back. Eddie’s dark chuckle behind you sends chills up your spine. 

“You need to remember who you belong to, princess. And it’s not him.”

You gulp, feeling the wetness pooling between your thighs already. You were already expecting to be in his lap like this tonight, but not in the middle of the club, right in front of Gareth. 

His warm hands release your arms, now creeping to your front. They trace up your body, creeping up your sides all the way to your chest. When they fondle your tits, your head falls back onto his shoulder and your hips shift in place. 

“Say it,” He whispers into your neck, his hair tickling your collarbones, “Tell Gare that you’re mine and only mine.”

You just moan, trying to gain any sort of friction on his lap. 

Gareth is hypnotized by you two. It should be something he looks away from, but watching you two mess around is better than any porn he’s ever watched. 

You tilt your head forward in defiance, not indulging Eddie in the words he wants you to say out loud. You tighten your lips together, pursing them a bit as you focus on Gareth. The shifting lights beam through the curtains and spread across his face, highlighting the sly tipping of his head. 

Eddie’s right hand continues to grapple at your boob as the other one travels between your legs. Your bottom half is covered by the table so Gareth cannot see where his hand lands, but he has a very good idea where his fingers are. 

Eddie finally looks towards Gareth’s ravenous eyes, not catching the man’s eyes because they are locked on yours. 

He could not stand it anymore. 

Never happening again. He told Gareth that. And now he is looking at you like you are his next meal. And you? You have been nothing but stubborn lately. Usually, you are a puddle in his hands, but you have been extra greedy lately. Deep down, he knew he spoiled you a bit too much with the threesome and now was reaping the consequences. It irked him but he knew he had to put you both in your respective places. 

He would show you both who’s in control here.

Eddie’s groping is no longer hidden the moment he scoots you around the crescent-shaped booth. Gareth’s body is cemented to the same spot as Eddie’s hands slide between your thighs, spreading your knees apart. Your panties are soaked through, and you can tell by the look on Gareth’s face that it’s taking everything within him not to reach out and touch you. 

You place one foot up on the booth, your toes almost touching Gareth’s thigh, while your other leg is held in place between Eddie’s spread lap. 

“Soaked through your panties, hm?” Eddie’s fingers trace the hem of your underwear before sliding through the fabric with his pointer and middle finger. Him gathering the slick through your panties is enough stimulation to have you throwing your head back in pleasure. 

When his digits hook around the material, revealing your glistening cunt to Gareth, you cannot help but moan at his reaction. He takes the panties, tucking them in his pocket as your hips rock back and forth. 

You swear you see drool dribble down his bottom lip the moment Eddie’s fingers plunge into your sopping cunt. You can hear how wet you are over the music, your hips jerking forward to get Eddie to move inside you. 

He’s taking his time, dragging his digits in and out of you teasingly. You increase your movements forward, which leads Eddie to pulling his fingers out of you completely and slapping your inner thigh hard.

“Stop being greedy, princess,” He warns, his voice husky and rough, “When has that ever gotten you anywhere?”

He clamps his arm down over your leg, barring you from moving that leg as he brings his attention back to your pussy. He drags his fingers in and out of you, spreading around your juices like he’s finger painting through your slit. 

Gareth refuses to look away, grabbing his drink from the table and slamming it down. The burn he feels is suddenly replaced with pure ice the moment Eddie starts slapping your cunt, looking down your body as he does. 

“You know, you,” Eddie says, increasing in the pace of his swats at your cunt, “You never did what I asked you to do, princess.”

You bite your lip, knowing exactly what he wants from you. 

“Make me cum, please-” He presses his nose against the side of your head, his mouth right above your ear. “Tell drummer boy you’re fucking mine. I won’t ask you again.”

You let out a long sigh. You are all Eddie’s, there’s no doubt about that. But you craved what he would give you if you were defiant. Lately, his adamance and pure dominance over you has been the adding fuel to the hottest sex you two have ever had. You loved being a brat and having him set you straight. 

But this act was all being done in front of his friend. You knew you had some power imbalances with this situation and it could get hairy very quickly. 

So you submit. 

You turn to Gareth, eyes boring into his dark blue eyes. “I’m Eddie’s. Only his.”

Eddie’s groan kickstarts the quickest orgasm you have ever had from his fingers. He sinks into you, hooking his pointer and middle finger inside your dripping hole. His fingers instantly begin the ‘come hither’ motion as his thumb swipes across your swollen clit. You are holding onto whatever can keep you from sliding out of the booth seat, and somehow, Gareth’s body has moved close enough for you to hold onto his knee. 

The fire within you erupts the moment Eddie moves his fingers in the perfect tandem, touching you right there. 

Your chest heaves, your mind goes blank, and your breath leaves your body. Your nails dig into Gareth’s kneecap as your body practically goes limp and falls forward. Eddie’s arm wraps around your midsection, chuckling darkly to himself.

He does not let you recover from your insane high before he’s repositioning you up on his lap again. Your legs get locked between his thighs, closing them together tightly. In the time your eyes were screwed shut in pleasure just moments before, Eddie had already pulled his hard cock out of his skinny jeans. 

“He’s gonna watch. And only watch. He’s not touching my girl,” Eddie says with gritted teeth.

The moment your ass brushes across it, your hazy mind makes the connection that you are about to fuck him in a public club while his bandmate watches. 

The riskiness of it gets your adrenaline pumping. If anyone were to peek into the VIP area, they would see you placed on Eddie’s lap, dress over your hips as both your faces are twisted in pleasure. 

What a headline that would make! 

He readies his cock by spitting in his hand and stroking it for a moment. You shake your ass over his lap, your eyes locked on Gareth’s completely spent appearance. His hands are practically twitching, itching to touch you somehow. 

But you were not the only possessive one. 

Gareth wanted you bad and he has since the moment he sunk into you. But you were obviously off-limits and Eddie made that very clear. Hell, he was making it so abundantly clear now, he would fuck you in front of him just to prove so. 

So instead, Gareth was always subtle with his passes towards you. The moment you were around, he usually cleared the area of women because you were the only one he found himself fixated on. He knew he could not give those women the same attention when you were in his presence. 

He so badly wanted tonight to be different. Distract himself with tons of alcohol, dancing, and women. But there you were, sitting all lonesome waiting for your knight and shining armor to return. He would be lying if he did not notice the way you looked at him the moment he sat down with, Maria? Maddie?

It was the alcohol, you told yourself. It was Eddie touching you. It was the pulse of the club and bass drops in the music. 

It was not your feral desire to fuck Gareth again.

Eddie being adamant about Gareth only being allowed to watch was maddening. You wanted more hands. More kisses. More stimulation. And Gareth was a good provider of all those things. 

Eddie grasps at your waist, slowly easing you down onto his cock. You cannot help but grip the edge of the table, tilting your body towards Gareth’s frame. 

You hover over Eddie enough that he can shift his hips upward and shallowly fuck into your soaked cunt. The stretch is always delicious, the feeling even better than you remember. Even if you two fucked a couple hours before, it still felt like the first time. His cock just fits so snugly inside you, you sometimes pray he could stay there all the time. 

While Eddie focuses on thrusting up into you, you slap the table in front of Gareth, shaking the drinks in front of him.

“Talk to me,” You plea, your fingers spreading out towards him. If he can not touch you, he can at least talk you through it.

The sinful smile that spreads across his face almost makes you clench around Eddie’s length. 

“Such a dirty girl,” He practically shouts. It’s almost as if the music is getting louder to prevent people from hearing the pornographic scene happening behind some sheer curtains. “You want me to talk to you while Eddie fucks that pussy, hm?”

His condescending tone is enough to make your head spin. He slides a bit closer to you two, his eyes flickering down to how Eddie is snapping his hips up into your squelching cunt. 

The plea you make towards him turns his attention back to your twisted expression. “Please, please just talk.”

Eddie’s pace quickens, his grip on you becoming tighter. He grumbles something like while he swats your bare ass, “Such a slut.”

Gareth chuckles dryly, “Isn’t she, Eds? Just a dirty little slut that loves her hole stuffed, hm? Doesn’t matter when or where.”

You cannot help the sounds that escape you. The moans grow louder and louder, especially when Eddie stops to lift your leg back up onto the booth. The position allows him to slip his hand right between your folds, toying with your swollen clit. 

It’s not lost on Gareth how overstimulated you are, he can see directly into your soul with those steely blue eyes.

“Just fucked out on Eddie’s cock, huh, sweetheart?”

You nod quickly in tandem with Eddie’s fingers swiping across your folds as his pace increases, “Yes, oh my god, yes.”

“You just can’t help yourself, can you? I can hear you moaning almost every night on the bus, begging to cum. Poor baby has to beg.” 

The way he’s mocking you makes the coil inside your stomach pulsate for a moment. You cannot help yourself, springing into an action you may regret later. You grab onto Gareth’s arm, pulling it forward and up to your throat. 

Eddie wants to stop it, but he can feel your pussy clenching around him and he wants to make you cum over and over, all in front of his stupid fucking friend. The point he needs to prove, for some reason, is taking priority over his rules of Gareth not touching you. 

While Gareth laughs at your desperation, his fingers tighten around your windpipe. 

“I just know that cunt of yours is milking Eddie’s cock, just like it did mine,” Gareth whispers as your face tilts away from him. He tugs on your throat, snapping your eyes back onto his. You are right on the edge, the teetering now turning into falling. “Make a mess on his lap, sweetheart. Look at me as you cum. Go on.”

The pressure Eddie puts on your clit throws you into overdrive. You instinctively want to close your legs, but Eddie has a strong hold on your left thigh, opening you up. The hold Gareth has on your throat only intensifies, his rings indented on the edges of your neck. As much as you want to keep your eyes on Gareth, the pleasure makes your eyes roll to the back of your head. Your mouth hangs wide as shaky moans pour out of you like a gushing fountain. Eddie does not stop his assault on your cunt as your white hot climax settles in your stomach. 

When your vision returns, Gareth has the most twisted look on his face. His hand slowly creeps up your throat, resting on your chin. You are finally able to inhale a big breath as Eddie holds you still on his lap while he catches his breath for a moment. 

Eddie lifts you off his lap, tearing you away from Gareth’s grasp. You have never been so forcibly pushed onto a tabletop, but somehow Eddie flops you onto your back, making almost every drink spill onto the floor or marble. It wobbles a bit as you stare up at Eddie, propping yourself onto your elbows. 

“Dude, what the f-”

Gareth cannot even finish his sentence before Eddie shoots daggers at him. “Shut the fuck up.”

He wants Gareth to watch him fuck you intimately. Eye contact. Hands everywhere. Him being the only one talking you through it. He wants Gareth to see you cum by his hand and only his hand. He wants Gareth to realize that he in no way has any ownership of you. You were his. And only his.

Just because Gareth got a taste of you before, does not give him any upper hand now.

Eddie’s grip has you shimmying your hips to the edge of the table as his left-hand pumps his cum covered shaft. He stands up, pushing the table back a couple of inches, making sure he had enough room to stand and fuck you. 

You grab at his shirt, trying to gain his focus but he slips his cock back inside you without even looking at you and suddenly your stomach is twisting. You're still sensitive from the previous orgasm, but Eddie does not care. He sets a sudden and brutal pace, grabbing the hem of his shirt from you so it does not cover up the view of you all sprawled out in front of him. He smiles watching himself disappear inside you, it seems so picturesque. 

His eyes finally seek out yours and a smirk creeps across your lips. “God, you feel so good.”

The hand that is not hooked on your hips, trails to your lower pelvis. He applies some subtle pressure to that spot as he grinds into you, “Yeah? You feel me there, baby?”

You almost forgot Gareth is still seated right beside you until you hear him croak out, “Jesus.”

You do not dare break eye contact with Eddie as he brings the bottom of his shirt up to his teeth, bearing down on the fabric. You drop down onto your shoulders, your arms reaching the edge of the table. 

“Are you gonna answer me, sweetheart? Or do you only answer to Gareth?”

The bite in Eddie’s tone makes you shudder. “Yes, baby. I feel you right there.”

You hold his palm down on your stomach, which only encourages him to go faster and feel his cockhead push against you from the inside. 

“I’m gonna fill that pussy up,” Eddie rambles, throwing his head back to regain some sort of composure as he dirty talks to you, “You like that, huh? You like walking around with my cum dripping down your leg?”

Gareth’s breathing hitches and you can hear it the moment Eddie’s groans turn into grunts, chasing his own high. Your eyes trail over to Gareth as you feel Eddie’s cock twitch inside you after one particularly sharp thrust. You just lie there, completely fucked out of your mind. The moment Eddie’s hips slow down, you peer back over at him. 

The way his shirt is tucked up, revealing his toned pale tummy. The sweat is dripping down his forehead from the curls that are usually brushed across his forehead. His jaw is slightly unhinged as he empties himself inside you. The lighting of the venue only adds to the sensuality of it all. You would love to see him like this every day for the rest of your life. 

But the moment he finishes, he abruptly pulls out of you, cum instantly dribbling on the table. 

You are taken aback. Your body still feels like jello as you manage to push yourself up onto the balls of your hands. Eddie wastes no time at all, tucking is dick back into his jeans and stepping away from in between your legs. You tilt your head towards him, trying to catch his eyes, but he will not even look in your direction.

“What’s wrong-”

“Can’t even fuckin’ look at me when I finish inside you. Fuckin’ insane.”

You shake your head, your brain almost malfunctioning from being completely dazed by your multiple orgasms, on top of the alcohol you slammed down not too long ago. You do not understand what he is talking about besides the brief glance you shot over at Gareth when he made a noise. 

Before you can even respond to him, Gareth is standing up and coming to your defense. 

“Bro, it wasn’t like that-” “Shut the fuck up,” He puts his hand up at Gareth, completely disregarding the beginning of his sentence, “I need to go have a cigarette. Please don’t follow me.”

You sit up completely, your bare ass touching the table top as you slide down onto your feet. 

“Baby, you know it wasn’t like that.”

He is already half out of the booth as his body fully turns towards you, “Bullshit.”

And he walks away, pushing the curtain completely away from disguising the booth from the outside crowd. You feel sick to your stomach, a wave of guilt and nauseating self-pity washing over you. You close your eyes, taking a deep breath. 

“This cannot happen again,” Gareth remarks, making his way to the edge of the booth, “Better yet… I don’t think I should talk to you anymore.”

Your heart sinks to your ass, sobering up completely due to the situation that’s unfolding all around you. 

“Gareth, don’t be ridiculous.”

He stops you, standing up and shaking his head dramatically, “No, what’s ridiculous is that we let this happen again. I’m not… I’m not disrespecting Eddie again. So whatever… things you felt about me. Or us. It’s not real and it’s not happening again.”

“Gare-”

“Have a good rest of your night, sweetheart."

[punkrockmlchael]

The Girl Next Door

Masterlist | Gareth Emerson Masterlist | Corroded Coffin Masterlist

Gareth Emerson x Fem Henderson!Reader

Modern AU; Best Friends to Lovers (Both Gareth and Reader are 18+)

Warnings: 18+ mdni, Best Friend Reader!, Underaged Drinking, Smut with Plot (kinda, mostly smut), Very whiney and needy Gareth, Reader has Nipple Piercings!, Very Submissive Gareth, Gareth has a Praise Kink, Accidental Confession, Smut: Making Out and Getting Handsy, Gareth makes a mess in his pants, Nipple Play, Riding Gareth, PinV, afab reader

Request: anon: I was wondering if you could write fluffy/smut with Gareth, maybe best friend to lovers. The reader is Dustin's older sister and he knows his sister’s crush, and Dustin makes it his personal mission to get The reader and Gareth together. Hi! Thanks for the request! I love me some Gareth, especially best friends to lovers and this was my first time writing for a Henderson! reader so I hope you enjoy :) for some reason this turned into whiney and needy Gareth bc I craved that and like ugh, I love this man ++ huge shoutout to @keeryhours for letting me yap my way through this with you!

Synopsis: Growing up next door to the Emerson's house was cool. Pool parties in their fancy in-ground pool anytime you wanted, playing video games in their basement anytime you wanted, knocking on Gareth's window anytime you wanted (and in return, he definitely knocked on your window). It was so cool, until you developed a crush on Gareth... You swear you've kept this crush to yourself so well, but your little brother, Dustin, noticed the looks you gave his older Hellfire mentor and neighbor. Dustin thinks it's cute; he's a total sap for love and romance and he definitely wants you and Gareth to be together.

Word Count: 4.1k

gareth: hey! you’re going to the hellfire party tonight, right?

you: gareth, it’s literally at my house

gareth: oh, duh. idk, maybe you had plans?

you: no, dustin would freak out if i didn’t show up to his little party. plus you guys are like, my only friends? lol, where else would i be on a friday night?

gareth: damn, well, need any help? i can come over early and help ya!

you: actually, yeah, we might. if you want. you free in 10 minutes?

gareth: be there asap!!

you: perfect, thanks! front door is unlocked

gareth: as if i don’t know where the spare key is, a fake rock is pretty obvious

You rolled your eyes at his response, smiling to yourself. Yeah, a fake rock was pretty obvious, but also not your choice. You had your mom to thank for that one.

You slid your phone in your jeans back pocket and straightened out your low-cut crop top before heading towards the kitchen. Once you arrived down the stairs, you saw your brother, Dustin, moving around the kitchen with his friend Mike.

"Are you sure your mom is okay with us like... actually drinking tonight?" Mike asked, organizing the various amounts of liquor and beer that Eddie had dropped off on the counter.

"Mike, my mom literally doesn't care. She's not like your mom," Dustin replied, placing out some snacks. "Besides, my sister will be here, and Eddie, and so many more seniors that will be responsible."

"Responsible?" You asked, walking towards the kitchen island. You took a seat and smiled at your brother and his friend. "You really think we're responsible?"

Mike looked up at you and blinked a few times, staring at your cleavage in the low-cut crop top. Dustin looked over at him and hit his arm, shaking his head. "Dude, that's my sister!" Dustin redirected his attention to you, raising an eyebrow gently. "Gareth coming tonight?" He asked, a suggestive tone in his voice.

"Yeah, he'll be here soon, why do you ask?" You replied, looking at Dustin with a confused look. "I mean, it's a Hellfire party, isn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah it is a Hellfire party. I just wasn't sure if he was stopping by," Dustin replied, a small smirk on his face as he turned back to what he was doing.

You gave him a look before responding, trying to read his look and understand what he was saying. "It's funny you ask that," you said, resting your arms on the counter and leaning over it a bit. "He just texted me and asked if I was coming to this party, as if it's not at my house."

"We both know Gareth isn't the sharpest tool in the drawer," Dustin replied, grabbing a bowl from the cabinet to put the chips in it.

"Hey, be nice," you warned, watching as he moved around the kitchen.

"Be nice?" Mike asked, looking back at you, seriously struggling to look at your face. "It's Gareth."

You gave Mike the same stern look you had given your brother moments before. He looked at you before he looked back at Dustin, cowering a little. "Dude, how is she so scary and hot?" Mike whispered to Dustin, looking back at you as he whispered.

"Dude, she's still my sister," Dustin groaned, shaking his head.

You raised an eyebrow, watching Dustin and Mike before you heard the front door open. You turned in your chair and smiled as Gareth walked into the kitchen, smiling at you.

"Hey," Gareth smiled, moving to stand next to you. He wrapped an arm around your shoulder and looked up at Dustin and Mike, smiling at them both. "Mike, Dustin. Do you guys need any help?" He asked, stepping closer to you, his hand rubbing against the exposed skin of your shoulder gently.

"Hey, Gareth," Mike said, looking at you and Gareth.

Dustin also looked up at you and Gareth, immediately noticing his hand placement. And the fact that you leaned into Gareth's touch instinctively and immediately. He redirected his attention to Gareth and shook his head, that same small smirk still on his face.

"No, I think we're good," Dustin nodded, placing the bowl of chips on the counter in front of you. "Besides, I think the others should be here soon," he added, placing out some more snacks.

"Hm, okay, if you say so," Gareth hummed, grabbing a chip from the bowl to munch on with his free hand. He popped it in his mouth and looked at you, smiling softly. "You want a drink?" He asked, looking back at the counter full of beer, liquor and mixers. "Because I need one," he said, walking towards the counter where Mike stood.

"Already?" You giggled, watching him move toward the alcohol. "You just got here," you added, standing up and walking towards him.

"Yeah, well, lucky for me I can just stumble next door tonight when I leave," he shrugged, grabbing a red solo cup before he poured in some coconut flavored rum. He topped it off with some Dr. Pepper and looked at you, smiling as you appeared next to him. "And, you know Eddie will be wasted tonight, we might as well join him." He teased, taking a sip of his drink.

You made a face, looking at his cup. "I'm sorry," you said, grabbing your own red solo cup, "did you really just mix coconut rum and Dr. Pepper?" You asked, pouring some vodka into your cup. You topped it off with some Coke, stirring it up gently before you took a sip of it, making a face at the taste of alcohol.

"Says the girl that just mixed vodka with Coke," he rolled his eyes, bumping his shoulder into yours.

"It's a classic," you argued, rolling your eyes right back at him.

"A classic my ass," he replied, walking towards the living room. You shook your head and followed him, leaving Dustin and Mike alone in the kitchen again.

"What, uh, what was that?" Miked asked, looking towards the living room before looking back at Dustin.

Dustin smirked and shrugged, grabbing himself a can of beer. "That," he said, opening the beer before he took a sip, "is what our goal is tonight. Getting the two of them together," he nodded, looking back at Mike as he sipped the beer.

"Huh?!" Mike asked, looking at Dustin with wide eyes. "Why?"

"Because, it's my mission."

"Come on," Dustin giggled, looking at you from across the room as he nursed the second beer he was drinking for the night. "Truth or dare?" He asked, leaning closer to you.

You shook your head, sitting on the arm of the chair Gareth was sitting on. Gareth's arm was around your waist protectively, ensuring that you didn't fall off in any way. "Dustin," you said, looking at him. "I don't want to play."

"Hey now, come on, girl Henderson," Eddie piped in, leaning towards you like your brother did. "Answer baby Henderson's question."

"Yeah, girl, we all did it." Jeff added, giggling a little as he was feeling the alcohol. You looked at Jeff and Eddie and raised your eyebrow, turning your attention back to your brother.

What harm could he do?

"Fine," you sighed, taking another sip from your drink. "Dare."

"Perfect," Dustin nodded, looking between you and Gareth. "I dare you to play 7 minutes in heaven with Gareth!"

You choked on your drink, looking up at Dustin. He wore a cheeky smirk back. Eddie and Jeff broke out into a chorus of oooh's and Mike stared at Dustin like he was crazy. You looked at Gareth, his face bright red as he looked at Dustin.

"Dustin, what, no! That's... that's crazy!" You said, shaking your head.

"You totally have to do it!" Eddie said as he gave Dustin a high five.

"You can't back down from a dare!" Jeff replied, nodding along with Eddie's words. You looked at the boys with a shocked expression before you looked back at Gareth, his red face looking at you.

"Well, uh, a dare is a dare," Gareth said softly, nodding as he looked up at you. You looked back at him with a shocked face; not because he was agreeing to do this but because he seemed... nervous? “Besides, it’s just kissing,” he added, looking at you.

"Fine, I guess," you mumbled, standing up. You walked towards the stairs and made your way to your room, Gareth following after you quietly.

"Nice job, baby Henderson," Eddie said, watching you and Gareth walked towards your room. "I thought they'd never fuck," he added, looking back at Dustin.

"Dude, I know right?" Dustin replied, taking a small sip of the now warm beer in his hands.

"You don't... you don't think they're actually going to do that... right?" Mike asked cautiously.

"If Gareth can actually make a move, yeah." Jeff nodded.

“Oh, Mike,” Eddie smirked, downing the rest of his beer. “This has been a long time coming.”

You walked towards your room with Gareth trailing after you. You walked inside first, closing the door after Gareth before you locked it.

You weren’t sure if it was the alcohol in your system, the looks the boys all gave you, or the way Gareth seemed fine with this. But, something definitely gave you the confidence to go through with this.

“Look, we-“ Gareth started, before you stepped towards him, pushing him against the back of the door. You leaned in and kissed him roughly, moving your arms to his biceps, holding onto them for balance.

He groaned into the kiss, his arms moving around your waist as they rested on your ass cheeks gently. He squeezed them a little, swallowing the moan you left in his mouth. You pulled away from the kiss, looking up at him. He looked down at you, sighing as he continued to squeeze your ass.

“Is this okay?” You asked softly. He nodded, breathlessly.

“Yes, fuck, please,” he begged softly, looking at you. “More than okay. Please kiss me again.” He breathed out. “And again, fuck,” he sighed. “God, I just, I need you.”

You sighed, relishing in the way he sounded, begging. For more. For you.

You leaned closer, kissing his lips again. A small whine escaped his lips as his hands moved to your hips, holding you tightly. Your hands moved to his neck, playing with the small curls at the base of his neck.

You tugged on his curls gently as your lips moved against his, his lips parting gently to let out a soft groan. Your tongue darted into his mouth, exploring it as he continued to gasp and groan, pulling your body closer to his.

His now rock hard cock rubbed against your thigh, causing you to groan as you tugged on his curls with a bit more force, another whine escaping his lips.

“Fuck, baby, please,” he whined, grinding his hips against your thigh. “You, ah, you have no idea what you’re doing to me,” he closed his eyes, resting his head against the door softly as he continued to grind against your thigh.

“Someone’s eager,” you teased, kissing down his jaw gently to his neck. You trailed kisses down to his neck, biting the skin gently as your dominant hand trailed down his chest and stomach, stopping directly over his hard on. You squeezed it gently, palming him through his pants.

He moaned loudly, bucking his hips towards your hand as you continued to palm him. “Ah, baby,” he breathed, closing his eyes as he continued to move against your palm. “Please,” he was cut off by a moan as you bit down on his neck a little rougher this time. You nibbled and sucked on the skin, creating a small purple mark. “Fuck, yeah, mark me up, make everyone know I’m yours, god. Wanna be yours.” He babbled on softly.

You left a few more marks on his neck, continuing to palm him through his jeans. He moaned more, moving his hips against your hand, craving some sort of release.

“God, fuck,” he whined. “I’m gonna cum, shit,” he warned, looking down at you.

“You’re gonna cum,” you moved your face closer to his, your lips ghosting his, “in your pants? From my hand?” You asked, looking at him.

He bit his lip and nodded, a bit embarrassed. “Yes,” he said shamefully. “I’m gonna cum in my pants from your hand,” he repeated, speeding up his movements against your hand.

He closed the gap between you two and kissed your lips, groaning into the kiss. You squeezed his cock gently, continuing to palm him. He pulled away from the kiss, the back of his head resting against the door as his hip movements turned sloppy.

“Please,” he begged, eyes shut tightly as he continued to grind into your palm. “Please, baby, please let me cum,” he pleaded, looking at you with lust blown eyes. “Please, I-I can’t take it, want to cum, need to cum.”

You looked up at him, taking in his appearance. He looked pathetic. He was pressed up against your bedroom door, fully clothed as he continued to grind against your hand. A whining, moaning, groaning mess as he begged for you to allow him to cum in his pants.

“You’re going to make a mess, Gare,” you said softly, kissing his neck gently.

“Don’t care,” he replied quickly, shaking his head. “Just, ah, just want to cum.”

“Then cum for me,” you whispered, speeding up your hand movements. He whined loudly, hips sputtering as he finally let go, releasing inside his underwear and pants. His hips continued to move against your hand slowly as he rode out his high. “Mm, good boy,” you mumbled.

You left soft kisses up and down his neck, keeping your hand where it was until he was done. He sighed again, leaning his head back against the door before he looked down at you, a bright red color creeping up his neck and to his cheeks.

“I… I’m sorry,” he said softly, looking down at you. He suddenly felt very embarrassed, very self aware and very sticky; it was quite the feeling for him.

“Hm? For?” You asked, kissing his lips softly.

“Please, don’t make me say it again,” he begged, looking at you. “I don’t need the reminder of what I just did.”

You giggled, moving your hands to his face gently. “Didn’t know you were so submissive,” you teased.

“God, you’re hot and I’ve had alcohol,” he sighed, “and now, I don’t think I can go back down there,” he added, looking down at the noticeable wet spot in his jeans.

“So, don’t,” you said, kissing him again. “Let’s have some more fun,” you suggested, looking up at him.

“You don’t… like, you don’t think I’m a loser for this?” He asked, looking down at you.

You shook your head, caressing his face gently. “Should I?” You asked, “because, I actually think it’s really hot and I want nothing more than to have you inside of me right now.” He sighed, leaning in to kiss you again.

“Please, how are you so incredibly hot, smart and sweet?” He mumbled against your lips. “I really should clean up, though.” He said, moving his legs as his pants felt stuck to him.

You giggled a little, leaving a soft kiss on his lips. “You know where my bathroom is,” you replied, motioning towards the bathroom attached to your room. He hummed and nodded, having been in the bathroom multiple times. He placed a soft kiss on your forehead before he waddled to the bathroom to clean himself up.

You shook your head and smiled a little, sitting on your bed.

A few moments later, Gareth walked back out of the bathroom and sat on the bed next to you, “god, that was the most I’ve ever had to clean up,” he sighed, looking at you.

“That’s both extremely gross and extremely hot,” you said, moving towards him. “Now, uh, sit down over there, against the headboard. I want to try something.” You looked at him, watching as he obeyed and did as you said.

“What are you, oh, oh I see,” he mumbled as you crawled onto his lap, straddling his waist. You kissed him, repositioning yourself as you did. You rubbed your clothed core against the wet spot that was still on his pants and his breath hitched, his hands finding your hips. “God,” he groaned into the kiss. “You might actually kill me tonight, and if so, I’m dying a happy, happy man.”

“You’re like, incredibly needy,” you teased him as you pulled away from the kiss, sliding your crop top up and off your body. “And, it’s like really fucking hot but I pictured you to be way more dominant when it came to this,” you added, sliding his shirt up and over his head, tossing it off to the side with yours.

“You’ve pictured sex with me?” He asked, his hands moving up to cup and squeeze your breasts through your bra.

You moaned softly, nodding as you rubbed against him again, sighing softly. “Yeah, don’t let it go to your head,” you said, kissing him again. He kissed you back, deepening the kiss as he continued to paw at your breasts, squeezing them harder this time.

“Don’t let it go to my head?” He asked and reached around and undid your bra, “you let me cum in my pants and didn’t make fun of me; if anything, you’re my dream girl.” He said, looking up at you.

You shook your head, sliding your bra off before you threw it on the floor. “If you want I can tell all the boys,” you replied, leaning in for a kiss as your bare chests touched.

He jumped slightly, feeling the cold metal against his skin. He looked down, eyes widening as he ran his fingers across your nipples gently. “Piercings?” He asked, looking up at you as he continued to rub over your nipples and play with the silver metal that sat in them. “You have nipple piercings?” He groaned out, squeezing your boobs again.

You moaned and sighed, biting your lip. “Yeah, so what?” You asked, looking at him.

“So what? So, that’s like so totally hot, my god you are just, fuck,” he sighed, shaking his head. “Just when I think you couldn’t get more perfect you pull out new surprises,” he mumbled, kissing your lips as he continued to squeeze your breasts. “Wait,” he breathed out as he pulled away from the kiss. “Can I kiss them?” He asked, looking down at your breasts.

You bit your lip and nodded, “yeah, of course,” you said softly. “You can do anything you want to me,” you added, letting out a small whine as he kissed down your neck and collarbones, kissing over your breasts. He kissed down your left breast, kissing over your nipple before he stopped and sucked on it gently, his tongue darting around the cool metal in his mouth. He closed his eyes, humming against your skin as he continued to suck and kiss your nipple.

You moaned again, rubbing against him subconsciously as you moved your hand to his hair, tugging on his curls gently. He groaned against you, moving his hips up to meet yours, rubbing against you in sync with you.

“Fuck,” you moaned again, tugging on his hair. “Is your plan to get me to cum in my pants too?” You asked, sighing as you closed your eyes.

He pulled away from your breast with a popping sound, kissing back up your neck and jaw. “No,” he replied, “I’d much rather see you cum on my cock,” he added, kissing your lips. “Please.”

You pulled away from the kiss and stood up, shedding your jeans and panties, now standing completely naked in front of him. He looked at you, groaning as he eyed you up and down, his hand moving down to palm his cock through his jeans. You smirked, watching him as you grabbed a condom from your bedside table.

“If you undress I’ll be able to be on your cock,” you said, watching continue to palm himself. “Unless, of course, you want to cum in your pants again,” you teased.

“I’m never going to live that down, am I?” He sighed undoing his pants and boxers, kicking them off and onto the floor.

“Probably not, no,” you answered, crawling back to his lap. You opened the condom, reaching down to pump his cock a couple of times before you slid the condom on him. He groaned, his hips bucking as he thrusted into your hand. “Damn, dude, that’s just my hand,” you giggled as you repositioned yourself over him. You held his cock, gliding the tip through your wet folds, causing a louder moan to escape Gareth’s lips.

“Please,” he sighed, looking at you. “Please, need to be inside you, need to feel you around me, need to make you feel good,” he begged, moving his hips up as he tried to move inside of you.

“Well, I guess since you asked so nicely,” you replied, slowly sinking down on him with a gasp. “Fuck, Gare, you’re so big,” you breathed out, lowering yourself onto him completely. You sighed, letting yourself adjust to him as his hands moved to your hips, holding you in place. “God, you’re so big and fuck, you fill me up,” you said softly, leaving a soft kiss on his lips. He whined against your lips, his cock twitching inside of you. “You like that?” You asked, looking at him.

He nodded, closing his eyes as you slowly started moving your hips, “mhm,” he hummed, gripping your hips tighter. “Like being called good, like being praised,” he gasped as you moved more, slowly moving up before you moved back down on him completely.

"Yeah?" You asked, looking at him. He bit his lip and nodded, helping you move up and down on his cock with his hands.

"Yeah.." he sighed, his eyebrows furrowing as he helped you move; his movements going perfectly with yours.

"Well, you're such a good boy," you moaned out, your fingers tangling through his hair as you leaned in. You kissed his lips roughly, his lips moving against yours desperately as he moved his dominant hand down between your bodies. His thumb found your clit, rubbing tight circles over it as you continued to bounce on his cock. A loud moan escaped your lips, your kisses against his lips getting sloppier. "Fuck, Gare," you whined, moving your hips faster. "I'm gonna cum."

"Mhm," he mumbled, rubbing more circles as he moved his lips back to your nipples. He kissed and sucked again, groaning against your nipple as you clenched around his cock. "Please, cum for me," he mumbled. "Wanna see you cum on my cock, please," he begged.

You moaned again, the feeling all too much as you felt the familiar feeling in your stomach. Gareth's mouth on your nipple, his fingers rubbing circles on your clit and his cock stretching you out... it was all so much; but it felt so good.

You made a couple more movements before you moaned loudly, fingernails digging into Gareth's biceps to hold yourself upright as your orgasm ripped through you. You moaned his name and rode out your high, releasing around his cock. He groaned, looking up at you as he moved his hips up, whining against your nipple.

"Fuck, baby, I'm gonna cum," he groaned, the feeling of your nails digging into this skin driving him over the edge.

"Cum for me, fuck, be a good boy," you mumbled, moving your hips a little more. He whined, bucking his hips up as he released into the condom, moaning and groaning your name.

"Fuck, baby, god," he groaned, riding out his high. "God, I love you." He mumbled, his head falling back against the headboard. Your head whipped up, looking at him.

"You, what?" You asked, continuing to sit on his cock as you looked at him.

"Hmm?" He asked, looking at you with an exhausted expression. What he had said finally hit him before he looked at you with a red face. "I, uh, I love you." He said softly.

"I love you too," you responded immediately, leaning in for another kiss.

He smiled, kissing you back. "Be mine?" He mumbled against your lips.

"Always," you replied, smiling softly.

"That was more than 7 minutes, you know," he teased softly, looking at you as he pushed your hair back behind your ear gently.

"Yeah, whatever," you giggled.

[spookyscarydemonbabe]

Worst Case Scenario

Summary- Gareth wants the chance to talk to you so badly, but seeing how you react to other guys approaching you only makes him more and more nervous…

Genre- Fluff

Warnings- None c:

Tag List- @thatsthewaythechrissycrumbles @munsonology @aidansloth @esme-viridian @morganwrites12672

(tag list is always open, please let me know if you’d like to be added 💋)

Word Count- 3.7k

“Just go up and ask!” Jeff urged Gareth as the four of them sat at a table a few rows in front of you at the library.

“I can’t!” Gareth whispered, “What if she says no?”

“What if she says yes?” Grant said, trying to push Gareth into finally being able to ask you out.

It had been months since he gained this little crush on you, and it was growing to the point of agony for him. Sneaking glances at you from across the classroom, tripping himself up in the halls from watching you walk past, and your sweet demeanor definitely wasn’t helping much.

You were so smart, so kind, and though you had barely spoken to one another aside from an occasional ‘hi’ in the halls he could tell that you were someone genuine. But seeing all the other guys get rejected day after day didn’t make him feel any better about his crush on you.

He’d seen guys approach you in class, in the halls, during lunch. At least one guy a week had the balls to ask you out on a date, and though you had always appreciated their offers, you turned down every single one. And Gareth knew he would probably just be another one of those guys you rejected.

“Stop overthinking it.” Eddie said, “If she says yes, good. If she says no, then you have your answer. Simple as that.”

Gareth knew Eddie was right. He shouldn’t pry you with things like this, and he knew that if he got another rejection he could take it well. Sure, it may hurt at first, but he’s been through it before and he can do it again. He was about to stand up and finally do it, but he stopped as he watched one of the seniors approach your table.

The boys kept themselves quiet, trying their best to hear the interaction that was about to take place. And it seemed like a few of the boys at the tables around you were doing the same thing.

Daniel McNeal was a senior, decently attractive, smart, and was quite gifted when it came to managing a schedule filled with work, school, sports, and a handful of extracurriculars to really spice up his college applications. Gareth knew now he wouldn’t stand a chance after him.

He and the boys sat back and carefully watched your interaction.

As Daniel approached your table, your head tilted up from your notebook and gave him a polite smile as he looked down to you, moving your attention quickly back into your notes.

“Hey.” He said with a smile, getting your attention once more.

You looked up once again and gave him another smile,

“Hi.”

“You’re (y/n), right?”

“Yep.” You’re went back to scribbling down a few points from your textbook, “That’s me. Why?”

“You know, i always saw glances of you in the halls,” He helped himself to the seat across from you at your table, “I just never expected you to be this pretty up close.”

You kept a kind smile on your face and let out a slow sigh, knowing exactly what was about to play out. It’s happened too many times before. You set your pencil down onto your notebook and closed it, folding your arms over it and looking up to him,

“Go on.” What you were saying would normally sound so shallow, and yet there was something about the way you said it that made it sound so syrupy sweet. No matter how humiliated all those rejected boys felt beforehand, you never made them feel bad for asking.

Daniel shot you a strange look,

“What do you mean?”

“Ask me out. I assume that’s what you came over here to talk to me about, but if it’s not then i apologize. I think i’ve been in this situation so many times things like this just come natural to me.” You giggled, making him smile.

“Pretty and smart. You’re the whole package, aren’t you?”

“I suppose so.” You shrugged.

Daniel leaned forward into the table, talking softly to you with a cocky smile on his face, thinking he’s already got you wrapped around his finger,

“Well, what do you say? You, me, saturday night, i was thinking the drive in but if that’s not your style i’d be happy to take you to dinner.”

“No thanks.” You smiled still, pulling your arms away from over your notebook before opening it back up and moving your attention back to your textbook.

Daniel gave you another confused look,

“What do you mean ‘no’?”

“I mean ‘no’ as in, ‘no, i don’t want to go out with you’. But i appreciate the offer!”

Your sweet demeanor was confusing given your answer, and Daniel was at a loss for words. He had never been rejected by a girl before, and he certainly didn’t expect you to be the first to do it. He figured with his good looks and charm he would be the one to finally break your streak of rejections, but you proved him wrong.

He watched as you happily went back to your notes, and leaned across the table to get a bit closer to you, talking in a whisper,

“Did i do something wrong?” He asked with a nervous chuckle.

“No.” You looked up to him from your notes, “It’s nothing you did. I’m not denying that you’re an attractive guy, and you seem very nice, but i’m just not interested.” You flashed him a smile and looked down back to your notes, scribbling away and leaving Daniel confused as he sat across from you.

After a few moments of silence, Daniel stood up from the chair across from you, and as he stepped away from the table you gave him one last smile before moving back to your notes. The boys were sat at their table, slack jawed after watching that scene unfold in front of them and the handful of other students sat at the tables around you.

“So she’s never going to say yes to me.” Gareth shrugged, giving up any attempts he had thought of to try and get your attention, but after watching you reject yet another guy he had no intentions of letting himself risk getting rejected.

“Stop being a pussy!” Jeff whispered through his teeth.

“Enough with that!” Gareth whispered back, quickly glancing back at you once more, watching as you continued on with your note taking, looking so peaceful as you did so, “I’ll ask… I just don’t know if i should do it now.”

“Fine then, that means she’s up for grabs.” Eddie shrugged as he sat back in his seat.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you can’t get all pissy if some other guy asks her out and she says yes. Just rip the bandaid off and do it!”

Gareth put his head in his hands and sighed, knowing that Eddie was right,

“You’re right. Fuck it.”

Gareth took one last deep breath and glanced over his shoulder at you, deeply focused on your textbook, tapping the eraser at the end of your pencil on the pages of your notebook. It was now or never.

Without another word he stood up and slowly stepped toward your table, his palms already feeling damp just from taking a few steps closer to you. He kept his breathing slow, the constant reminder in the back of his head telling himself that the worst thing that could come of this would be you saying ‘no’. Rejection wouldn’t be anything new for him, so why did it feel so different with you.

When you glanced up and met his gaze with a little smile his heart stopped, along with his feet.

You quickly looked him over, a smile still on your lips as you noticed he stopped before you,

“Hi?” You said with a little giggle.

“Hi.” Gareth said as he snapped out of his little trance, still doing his best to stay calm. But you could see that he was still a bit nervous.

“Your name’s Gareth, right?” You asked him as he stood before you, holding back a little giggle as he nodded, still standing before you. “Do you want to sit down?” You asked him, motioning your pencil to the chair across from you.

“Yeah,” He laughed to himself, clearing his throat and pulling out the chair across from you, “thanks.”

You kept a sweet smile on your lips as you went back to your notes, Gareth watching you happily scribble along the pale blue lines in your notebook. He couldn’t just sit across from you in silence.

“What class is that for?” He asked as he tried to glance into the textbook you were writing from.

“History.” You set your pencil down onto your notebook and closed it, your arms crossed over the notebook as you looked at Gareth with bright eyes, “I’ve never been that great at History so i always like to study up on it a bit more.”

“Makes sense,” Gareth smiled and shrugged, “I’m the same way with Algebra, i just can’t get that stuff down.”

You giggled as you saw him smile, and you noticed a little bit of pink on his cheeks as he heard it. It was quite cute.

“So what brought you over here to me? Aren’t you sitting over there with your friends?” You asked him, making him blush deeper with embarrassment, not knowing you had noticed he and the guys had been sitting there.

“I was.” He started, clearing his throat and doing his best to not make direct eye contact. He knew that would only make him blush worse.

“But, i saw you were sitting alone and thought maybe you’d like some company? I know you’re probably studying or something but I’m pretty good at history, i’d be glad to help if you need any.”

“You know, now that you mentioned it,” You smiled, sliding the textbook you were reading from over between the two of you, “I am having a little trouble remembering some of these dates, do you think you can help me?”

Gareth looked up with bright eyes, a smirk tugging at his lips,

“Yeah!” He quickly hushed himself, clearing his throat as he remembered you were sitting in the library, “Which ones did you need help with?”

“Um, the ones on…” You sat up slightly flipping a few pages back to find the timeline, “this page. I don’t know why, i just can’t seem to get all these dates correctly, i think because everything happened so quickly in World War 1 that i can’t seem to remember which event happened on which day.”

Gareth nodded as you explained your trouble to him, but he tended up once more as he saw you shift in your seat.

“Here, i think it’ll be easier if i came over there.”

You slid the book over to him and stood up from your chair, walking around behind him and sitting in the seat next to his. You could still see a little pink on his cheeks as you smiled to him, moving your chair a bit closer to his.

The boys tried to keep their glances over at the two of you hidden, but as soon as they saw you move closer to Gareth they couldn’t help but stare.

“She got closer to him…” Jeff whispered.

“No, i can see that, but why?” Grant whispered back.

“I can’t tell what they’re talking about,” Eddie started, watching the two of you from across the room, seeing your eyes light up a little as Gareth was pointing out something on the pages of the textbook you’d been reading from, “I mean it looks like they’re just talking about school stuff but who knows…”

They saw a few giggles from you and a nervous laugh from Gareth and only got more excited for him. Giggles were always a good sign.

“You really make all this seem so easy.” You said to Gareth as you looked up from the textbook.

“Really? I don’t know, i guess this stuff always just made sense to me.” He flashed a smile as he looked to you too, and he has finally felt himself comfortable enough to ask you what he’d been dying to ask all this time.

Unfortunately he didn’t plan for the bell to ring as soon as he parted his lips to speak.

“I should get to class,” You said apologetically, carefully shutting the text book in front of you, standing up from your chair, “I want to make sure all that stuff stays fresh in my brain for this quiz. Thanks again for your help,” You placed your hand onto his forearm and gave it a little squeeze, “i really do appreciate it. Now i know exactly who to come to when i’m having a little trouble with history.”

Gareth couldn’t help but smile as he stood with you, mustering out a quiet, “No Problem, anytime.” As he saw you walk to the other side of the table and pack up your backpack.

He glanced back at the guys, who were urging him to grow a pair and ask, not even noticing that you had stepped around him to make your way to your class.

“(y/n).” He said suddenly, even catching himself off guard as you turned back to him.

“Yeah?” You asked, a sweet smile on your lips as you took a few steps back towards him.

“Um…” He cleared his throat, not sure how to start as his eyes darted all over the room, “You don’t have to say yes if you don’t want to, but i think you’re a really interesting person, and if you weren’t doing anything this weekend i wanted to know if maybe you’d like to do something with me?”

“You mean like a date?”

He felt a blush rise to his cheeks again as he nodded.

“I’d love to!”

His eyes went wide, and he could tell that the other students around you turned in shock.

Out of everyone that had asked to take you out in school you had never taken anyone up on their offer, no matter who was asking or where they were taking you. Just to see that Gareth was the one who had somehow gotten you to say yes was a shock to everyone around you, including himself. This would no doubt be the gossip that ran through all the cliques at school for the next week.

“Really?” He asked quietly, still in shock.

You giggled and nodded,

“Really. It sounds like fun! Here,” You reached into your bag, grabbing a piece of stray paper and a pen from the side pocket, scribbling your name and number down onto it for him with a little heart in the corner, “call me later tonight and we’ll plan something.”

He was speechless.

He stood there for a moment, looking down at the little piece of paper in his hands, and he was hoping to god that this wasn’t just some joke. He snapped from his trance as he felt a hand slap down onto his shoulder, and as he looked up he saw the guys in front of him, wide eyed and just as shocked as he was.

“Is that her number?” Jeff asked him, snatching the piece of paper from Gareths hands as he continued watching you slowly step away.

“It is!” Grant exclaimed as he saw your handwriting, “Damn, i think this is the only time i’ve heard of her giving anyone her number, let alone say ‘yes’ to a date with anyone.”

“Yeah, and that ‘anyone’ is you!” Eddie smiled and patted him on the shoulder, “Good for you bud.”

Gareth felt like he should’ve been basking in his glory. He was the only guy that had ever gotten further than just a conversation and then a rejection with you. Out of every other guy that had tried their chance with you, soccer and basketball players, some of the smartest guys in school, even the class president tried his hand at you at one point or another and yet you chose him. He needed to know why.

Without saying a word to the guys he pushed past them, following behind you to try and catch you before you had made it to your next class. Thank god he could see your hair swaying behind you in the halls. He picked up his pace, dodging past the other students making their way to their classes before finally catching up and giving you a quick tap on the arm. You turned to him with a smile and a confused look,

“Hey, is everything ok?”

“Why did you say yes?” Gareth asked quickly as he tried to catch his breath, his nerves had left him entirely and were replaced with confusion.

“What do you mean?” You asked, quickly moving yourselves against the lockers to keep out of the way of the traffic of the other students.

“I’ve seen guys come up to you and ask you out countless times, not once have you ever said yes to any of them. But you said yes to me when i asked you.”

“I did.” You confirmed for him with a giggle, “So what’s all the confusion about?”

“I just…” He sighed and looked at the tile floor between the two of you, trying hard to not let himself get embarrassed and red faced again, “I’ve seen the kind of guys that have approached you before. You know, the smart guys and the popular guys, people that actually seem to mean something to the other people that go to this school. Im a nobody…”

Your lips curled into a sweet smile once again and you placed your hand to his cheek, gently guiding his eyes back to look into yours,

“You’re not a nobody. Just because you’re not super smart or popular doesn’t mean you’re a nobody. I think you’re a really cool person actually.”

Gareths eyes lit up and a small smile was brought to his lips.

“I think you’re very sweet, and you’re smart, and funny, and i think compared to most of the other guys that’ve asked me out you’re the one with the most personality.”

You shared a chuckle with him and saw a light pink on his cheeks once again as he tried to look away.

“You really want to know why i said yes?”

Gareth nodded slowly.

You giggled again and did your best to hide your own blush,

“Because you were nervous to talk to me. All the other guys had this arrogance to them, and i know the only reason most of them asked me was so they could add on another thing to their list of trophies. They asked me just because they wanted to see if i would actually say yes, but you asked me because you liked me. i could tell that you liked me.”

The other students had started to disappear from the halls into their classes, leaving the two of you almost entirely alone.

“Really?” He asked you quietly, “I thought girls didn’t like guys that got nervous like that.”

Another quick giggle left your lips,

“Well, i like guys that get nervous around me.” You leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss to his cheek, “Remember to call me later, ok? And tell your friends i said ‘hi’.” You motioned behind him and started to step away, and as Gareth turned he could see the guys standing slack jawed behind him.

He turned back but saw that you had already began your walk to class, giving him a little wave as you entered your classroom.

The boys quickly caught up to Gareth and did their best to walk through the halls to get to their own classes, but what they just witnessed would be on their minds for the rest of the day.

“What was that?” Grant asked him as they made their way down the opposite end of the hall, “Did she just kiss you?”

“On the cheek.” Gareth shrugged.

“So she did?” Jeff smiled, “Do you know what this means for you?”

“No?…” He thought to himself for a moment, “Should i?”

“It means that you hold more power than any other guy here. You not only got (y/n) to go out with you but you also got her number-“

“Oh yeah,” Gareth remembered leaving before grabbing that little slip of paper they took from him, “which one of you still has that?”

Grant reached into his jacket pocket and handed it over to Gareth,

“We didn’t copy it down or anything, this is all yours. We wouldn’t want to ruin your chances or anything.”

“Thanks.” Gareth looked down at the little scribble of your name and number on the little piece of paper in his hands, “And i didn’t make her do anything.” He said to Jeff, “I guess things just worked out right and she decided to say yes.”

“Well, how do you feel? You just got the most sought after girl in school to go out with you, you don’t seem too excited about it.” Eddie asked him with a chuckle.

“Good!” Gareth said with a big smile on his face, “Trust me, i’m over the moon about this, it just feels… strange? But i don’t know if that’s the right word.”

The class bell rung through the halls, and the boys said their quick goodbyes before running off to their classes.

“Tell us how it goes later!” Grant said as he ran down the opposite end of the hall.

“Don’t fuck this up!” Jeff laughed as he quickly stepped down the hall.

“Good job Romeo, but he’s right, don’t fuck this up.” Eddie gave him one last pat on the shoulder before slowly moving down the hall, and as Gareth watched the guys slowly disappear down the halls, he took one last look at the piece of paper in his hand.

He smiled to himself as he neatly folded the paper and carefully slipped it into his pocket, strolling slowly towards his classroom.

He didn’t care if he was late or not. Knowing that him just being him was enough for you to like him made him feel like nothing else that day could drag him down.

He couldn’t wait to get home.

[sp0o0kylights]

Someone on Twitter proposed Steve and Gareth as cousins whose family had a major falling out, and then someone else brought it up recently and long story short no idea who to credit the idea too bc you can’t search for SHIT on Twitter but it's theirs not mine. 

Anyway I wrote a lil thing as a warmup 

PART TWO

"Why don't you come sit with Hellfire?" Gareth asked, angrily leaned against the bathroom wall while Steve fixed his hair.

He'd tried not to cling since he entered high school. Tried to keep things on the downlow, least any gossipy mouths started running. 

It was so stupidly, needlessly, hard. 

 His cousin was only two years ahead of him but they'd spent the last year in different schools because of it. 

 That year, and the lack of Steve's presence in it, had grated. Now that he finally had Steve back, Gareth was loathe to play by the rules. 

"Sit with you and Eddie, "the freak" Munson? I'll pass." Steve said, but there was no bite in it. 

That, Gareth knew, was because Steve was  using Eddie as an excuse. 

"You'd like Eddie if you spent five minutes with him, King Steve." Gareth fired back on automatic. His fingers dug into his arms, as he resisted the urge to pace around the bathroom floor. 

Unspoken was all the shit that had taken place.

Steve and Nancy's breakup. The rumor mill in overdrive, first about how Jonathan Byers had taken creep shot photos of them, then about how he'd taken his shot with Nancy herself. 

The supposed cheating, the public fights, the crazy background of Jonathan's little brother being missing. 

Billy Hargrove beating Steve to a pulp. 

Now friendless, Steve had thoroughly fallen from his place at the tippy top of the social hierarchy and between his utter lack of friends and his shit tier parents, Gareth was concerned. 

"You do not want me to sit with you, Gary. I'd tell all your little friends that you're apart of the royal family." Steve turned, making an exaggerated face. "How's Munson feel about cozying up to a Prince?" 

"I'd technically be an Earl, Steve, not a prince." Gareth grumbled. 

He got an eye roll in response. "Somehow I don't think he'll care." 

"I do though." Gareth blurted out, absolutely thoughtless. 

Steve blinked at him. 

"What?" He said. 

In for a penny right?

 "I care." Gareth said, looking down and scuffing a shoe, making it squeak against the grimy tiles. "About you. You dick." 

"Wow Gary you almost sounded loving there."

For once, he ignored the jab. "I'm worried about you, man." He said it quietly, the painful truth pulled out of him almost by force. 

He knew better than anyone how few people Steve had. Knew how his dad was likely taking all the crap Steve had been involved in lately. 

Richard Harrington hadn't been the wedge that had separated his and Steve's mother, but the man hadn't done them any favors, either. 

His intolerance towards the working and lower classes, his demand for perfection, the way he looked down his nose not just on Gareth's parents but on his own wife and son…

Gareth's mom didn't tolerate it. 

Likewise, Stella Harrington didn't tolerate her sister ruining her shot at being a rich trophy wife. 

Both their sets of parents were dramatic and neither of them weren't anywhere near the concept of "good" but at least Gareth's weren't neglectful and abusive. 

Shitty absolutely, but he never worried about getting thrown out, or that his mom wouldn't acknowledge his birthday because he'd "complimented her outfit the wrong way." 

(”It's fine dude she just thought I called her ugly. It was a miscommunication. Dad said it's a good lesson about how women work."

"Casual reminder that your dad's an asshole and also how is telling your mom that she looked lovely in the sunlight telling her she's ugly?”

“It implied she wasn't lovely the rest of the time or some shit, I dunno man.”) 

The BMW was a shitty prize when compared what Steve had dealt with to receive it. 

"I'm okay." Steve said seriously. "It's almost the end of the year anyways. I can tough out having some extra alone time." 

"If you're sure…"

"Yeah man, I'm sure. Thanks though."

Then Steve pulled him into a hug and fuck their parents, who demanded they continued some stupid grudge. Gareth clung to him just as hard as he had at ten. Unsure if he'd ever be allowed to see Steve again.

[the-witty-pen-name]

Ketchup-gate

Gareth Emerson x F!Reader

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: fluff, mutual pining, friends to lovers, kissing, cursing, stupid pranks

Synopsis: After the freshmen prank on you goes wrong, it sets off a series of events where Gareth finally shows you how he feels.

A/N: I have fully gone down the Gareth Emerson rabbit hole. I love him so much. Please let me know if you like it, it’s my first time writing for him. If you want to see more Gareth content from me- my requests are open! I also hate this title but we’re rolling with it cause I couldn’t think of something better 🤷‍♀️

When a glop of ketchup lands on your page with a splat, you look up from your notebook with daggers in your eyes. A hush falls across the table as you look at the culprit of painting your homework and the front of your Hellfire shirt red. Eyes wide in panic, one of the freshmen sitting across from you looks like they might melt from under your heavy stare.

“What the fuck was that, Henderson?” You snap, snatching napkins from Mike’s tray.

“Uh- um-”

“UH, UM,” you mock, tilting your head to match each syllable.

“It was just part of the initiation!” Mike interjects- trying to diffuse the tension before it goes too far. Your brow furrowed in confusion as the rest of the table erupts into a laughing fit.

“What initiation?” you question, skeptically. The two younger boys look even more startled.

“To join Hellfire…”

“There’s never been hazing to join Hellfire,” you point out, and you notice how Jeff and Grant can’t keep themselves from falling over in laughter. “We don’t have people trying to get in, why would you think we would need an initiation?”

“You dumbasses set them up to piss me off?” You ask, redirecting your glare to the boys seated further down the table.

“I’m just disappointed they couldn’t think of an actually good prank,” Grant scoffs.

“That was the best you could do, Henderson?” Jeff mocked. “That’s not even a prank.”

“You’re all assholes,” you mutter, shoving your bag over your shoulder. You need to go to the restroom and try to get the glaring stain off your clothes before they set. Maybe if you have time, you can salvage your homework too before next period.

You don’t even notice Gareth and Eddie as you rush past them, and you don’t hear Gareth call out to you as you head down the hallway. Eddie shrugs, but as the two approach the table, the aftermath of the situation is glaringly obvious. Your usual seat at the table looks like a set of a shoestring budget gore movie.

“I’m gonna go find her,” Gareth says, patting Eddie on the shoulder- opting to catch up with you then join the others at the table. He can hear Eddie interrogating those at the scene as he heads after you.

“Dude coming in!” Gareth announces, stepping into the girl’s room. You roll your eyes when you make eye contact with him in the mirror. “Not a perv! Just need to help a friend in crisis!”

“It’s just me,” you mutter, dabbing your shirt with cold water with wads of paper towel. Gareth moves to lock the door so you two can talk uninterrupted. Also, so he doesn’t get in trouble being in here with you.

“What happened?” Gareth asks, shrugging off his flannel and offering it to you.

“Thanks,” you smile weakly. “Um, it wasn’t a big deal… Dustin ‘Carrie’d’ me with a bottle of Heinz and I kind of freaked out on him. Jeff and Grant put him up to it.”

“That sounds… really fucking stupid,” he stiffles back a laugh. You shove his arm, playfully.

“They of course chose the day I wore my club shirt, and I was working on my short essay for Ms. O’Donnell,” you exhale, annoyed still.

“It’ll come out of the shirt,” Gareth tries to help. “And you and I can wipe that off and I can help you rewrite it. Lunch just started- we can probably type it up at the library if we hurry.”

“It’s gonna set,” you whine, frustrated that you just seem to be fruitlessly pushing ketchup everywhere.

“I will make you another shirt,” he promises gently. He holds up the flannel again and helps you shrug it on. “Good as new, yeah?” he smiles.

God, why does he have to be so sweet? You’ll let yourself bask in the fact that you’re wearing his shirt later. It smells like his cologne- the scent overwhelms you and you wish you could just sink into it.

“Thanks, Gare,” you smile. You look down and button up the shirt so it hides the stains a little better. “You’re the best.”

“I know- would you tell the guys that?” he jokes.

“I’ll work it into conversation,” you promise. You move to head towards the door, you still need to fix your paper for class.

“Hey,” Gareth says, and you turn back to him. Suddenly, his demeanor is more shy.

“Yeah, Gare?”

“Do you- I mean, would you ever…”

“Yeah?” you ask, encouraging him to continue.

“Nevermind,” he shakes his head. “Let’s go fix your paper, yeah?”

“You’re my hero,” you joke, turning back around to walk out of the bathroom. You miss the way his cheeks flush pink. You can hear Eddie’s voice booming down the hallway- you look over at Gareth skeptically.

“I think he’s pissed about Ketchup Gate,” Gareth guesses, “C’mon, let’s get out of here before we run out of time.” He takes your hand and the both of you scurry down to the library, the clock ticking on your deadline.

You’re so focused on the fact that he’s holding your hand, you can’t even care about your homework anymore.

The rest of the day went by in a blur- you couldn’t take your mind off Gareth, which was not an uncommon occurrence. You kept thinking about the shirt you were wearing, the way he helped you fix your homework, and the way he waited for you outside Ms. O’Donnell’s class to walk with you and see how it went. Your every thought was tied back to him it seemed.

You were off your game in Hellfire. You could maybe concentrate better if Gareth wasn’t sitting so close. You’d stop rolling horrific numbers and would be able to stop stuttering on all of your decisions if his eyes were looking anywhere else but on you. You had done such a good job hiding your crush over the past few years- and unfortunately, it’s gotten worse instead of faded as you had hoped with time.

After a devastating campaign for your character, you decide it’s best to just cut your losses and head home. Mike, Lucas and Dustin have somehow convinced Eddie to drive them to the arcade- how? You’ll never know. Jeff and Grant seem interested, and make a plan to meet them there- but Gareth lingers, waiting to see what you’re doing. The rest of the guys fall over themselves, piling out of the room towards the parking lot. You doubt they notice that you’re ducking out.

“Are you coming?” Gareth asks hopefully, dangling his mom’s car keys in the air like a trophy. “You can drive with me- my mom let me have the wagon tonight.”

“No, I’m kinda tired,” you lie and you hope he can’t tell. “I was just gonna go home- maybe just chill and watch TV. There’s a new episode of Growing Pains on tonight…”

“Are you sure? I mean, the arcade could be kinda fun,” he asks, and he tries his best to hide the disappointment. “Or, maybe I could keep you company? I could stomach Growing Pains, or maybe we could get a movie at Family Video?”

“No, you go ahead,” you try to insist. You don’t think you could manage being alone with him without making a complete fool of yourself. You’re surprised at how well you seem to be holding up now. “I kinda want to just have some time to myself.” Lie.

“Okay,” he nods, feeling the sting of rejection. He tries his best to not let it weigh him down. “Hey, um- if you change your mind, you can always call The Palace and I can pick you up.”

“Thanks, Gare,” you smile.

Gareth is annoying Keith about every 15 minutes from the second he gets there. He idles near the prize counter, waiting for Keith to be done helping someone before asking again if someone called for him.

“I’ll page on the intercom if you get a call,” Keith rolls his eyes. “Don’t tell people to call you here again.”

“It’s just that it’s really important, I can’t miss it if they call,” he insists. He walks back to join the rest of the group. Jeff and Grant can tell immediately something is up with him, they knew he’d been acting weirder than usual. Eddie picked up on it too, but he was a little preoccupied in intimidating the freshmen so none of them beat his high score that he just set in Dig Dug.

“What’s up with you, man? You’re walking around here like it’s a wake,” Grant asks Gareth. Both he and Jeff slid into the opposite side of the booth where they found Gareth sitting alone. He keeps glancing over at the counter, trying to tell if Keith would step away to check the phone.

“Nah, I’m good,” he says distractedly, “Just, um, she’s gonna call if she wants to come out. I said I’d come get her. I don’t want Keith to fuck it up, you know?”

“She’s not coming out tonight,” Jeff points out, “She said she wanted to stay in, you told us.”

“But if she changes her mind, I’d go get her,” Gareth corrects him. Jeff sighs.

“Whatever you say man,” Grant says, shaking his head.

“When are you going to ask her out?” Jeff asks, knowingly. Gareth’s eyes widened.

“It’s not like that!” he insists. Jeff and Grant exchange a look.

“It’s totally like that,” Grant scoffs, Jeff nodding in agreement.

“You’re whipped,” Jeff taunts.

“No, I’m not!” Gareth tries to dispute them. It’s pointless. They know him better than anyone. He’s completely smitten, and they know it.

“Mike told me that he heard her talking to Nancy and she told Nancy that she liked you,” Jeff says, stirring the pot, to get Gareth’s reaction.

“Shut up, she did not. You’re trying to fuck with me,” he scoffs, before glancing back over toward Keith.

“Ask him yourself, Emerson,” Jeff says, hands in surrender. “That’s what he told us.”

“Pricks,” Gareth mumbles under his breath, pushing up from the booth and making a beeline towards Wheeler- who was currently losing terribly to Eddie in air hockey. He stops next to Mike, shouting over the arcade’s music and the clanks of the air hockey table. He shouts your name and Mike looks puzzled.

“What about her?”

“Did you tell Jeff you heard her say she liked me?”

“Fuck,” Mike shouts, the distraction causing him to miss deflecting another shot from Eddie. He goes to grab the puck from the bottom of the machine. “He told you that?”

“Well, is it true?” He asks, impatiently.

“Yeah,” Mike says distractedly, lining up his next shot as the puck hovers around the table's surface. “She and Nancy were talking about whatever and your name came up.”

“You have to tell me what she said,” Gareth says, irritated. He takes the puck off the board to command Mike’s full attention.

“What the hell?” Eddie shouts with a laugh. Gareth rolls his eyes and just sticks the puck into Mike’s goal- the score was 6-1 anyways. Eddie was clearly going to win.

“You have to tell me what she said,” he reiterates. Mike looks like he’s holding back a temper tantrum, but he remains composed.

“She slept over like a few weeks ago,” Mike rolls his eyes. “They were talking about boys- Nancy was talking about Jonathan, something gross like them kissing or whatever. I was trying not to hear it- anyways, I distinctly heard her say that she wanted you to kiss her like that or whatever. Made me wanna vomit.”

“I gotta go,” Gareth says, rushing out the door. He completely ignores the questions from his friends and a confused Keith.

You’re in your room, playing your records loud- enjoying the fact your parents are out. You don’t have someone bugging you to turn them down. You’re in bed, flipping through a magazine. You’re wearing your most comfortable pajama shorts and Gareth’s flannel shirt he let you borrow. You should probably have given it back after Hellfire- but he didn’t ask for it, so you kept it.

Gareth tries banging on the front door for a few minutes to no avail. He can practically feel your music vibrating the whole house. He’s shocked one of your neighbors hasn’t called in a noise complaint. He walks around to the side of the house. Your mother has trellis with growing vines that runs up the side of the house, leading right up to your bedroom window. Fuck, he mutters to himself. Of course, he’s going to climb up.

You’re gonna think he’s a creep, he thinks to himself pessimistically as he drudges up the side of the house. He hopes to god that you’ll hear him pound on the window before he falls to his death. He makes it to the top, but he almost falls backwards when he sees you- in bed with his flannel. Taking a few steadying breaths first, he knocks on the window.

“Gareth?” You shout, scared shitless. You rush over to the window and open it up. You immediately grab his arms and help pull him through the window. He ends up landing directly on top of you with an umph. He pushes his body up, his hands resting on either side of your head so he’s gazing down at you.

“Mike told me you liked me,” he pants, catching his breath. Shit, you think.

“He did?” you ask, reluctantly, mortified. Oblivious to the fact that he obviously reciprocates your feelings. He nods, biting his lip nervously.

“I’m gonna kill him- I told Nancy that in confidence-” Oh.

Gareth kisses you and it’s like time stops. You forget about the blaring music, or that you're directly under an open window that’s letting in the night’s cold air. You forget that you were just absolving to get over him- too scared to ruin your friendship. None of it matters when he’s kissing you like this.

TAGLIST: @sunshinepeachx @downbear @fanlifeaamt @exploding-bonbon @losingmygrasponreality @andvys @djodirt @moonlightsolo @kyga01 @sheisjoeschateau @melaninjhs @v3lv3tf0x @purpleeyeswithgoldensparkles @sunshine-mrk @danymunsonharrington @mrsjellymunson @fanficfantik

[recluserat]

I have a Dwayne/Michael fic that's been rattling around in my brain like its a pinball machine for like a year but I just can't figure out a plot other than "michael is flustered and dwayne likes making him blush and then they kiss at the end"

[natalie668]

Chapter 3 -Lost Girl

As i pull away from her hug, I can’t help but grin. She seems like such a sweetheart; “Come on, let’s go sit down to the dinner table I’ve bought pizza home for tea.” She says as she begins to make her way down the stairs towards where I can hear rustling of pizza boxes opening.

Michael takes my hand, we make our way down for food. He turns to look at me as we get to the top of the stairs, “We’ll continue about your other mates when we’re finished down here.” He says as he rubs his thumb against my cheek rubbing against the side of my lip. I can’t help but blush and nod. This guy is making my heart feel like it’s having palpitations.

Once we’re in the dining room, Michael pulls a chair out for me to sit at, Lucy smiles as she slides a paper plate over to me, I help myself to a piece of pepperoni pizza. Taking a bite I can’t help the moan that escapes. “Hmm, this is so good.” I say. “Thank you for the food Lucy.”

She smiles at me in return, “what’s ours is yours now sweetheart, you’re family.” Michael sits in the seat next to me, his hand rests against my thigh, I reach for his hand with my own, our fingers intertwining.

“So y/n, where are you from.” Sam asks around the pizza that he’s chomping away at in his mouth, Michael and Lucy grimace over his lack of table manners neither impressed seeing the food in his mouth while he’s talking.

“I’m from y/h/t, in y/c,” I say as i take another bite, Michael’s fingers squeeze against my own. I appreciate the comfort from his touch.

Lucy seems to read the room, and quickly changes the subject getting Sam’s attention from me, I appreciate it. After a couple of more slices of pizza Michael excuses us and we head back to his bedroom.

As we enter his room he leans behind me and slides the lock across the door, we both seem to lean in at the same time, his lips pressing against my own, our tongues caressing one another. I pull away, breathless.

I stare up into his eyes, “You were going to tell me about my other mates?.”

He sighs and throws himself down onto his bed, “I did, didn’t I.” He says with a sigh, his hands run through his curly hair. “What I’m about to tell you is going to sound crazy, but you’ve got to trust me. I’m telling the truth.” He says.

I look at him smirking, “Pretty sure I’m having Deja-vu here.” He looks at me with a grin, “You can tell me anything, I’ll believe you, like you believed me.” I say as I come and sit next to him my hand reaching out and taking hold of his.

“Your mates, and I. We’re vampires.” He says, his eyes peering up to my own.

I sit there in shock, surely I misheard. “Uhm, please repeat that.” I say, even though I don’t need him to repeat it, “you know what you don’t have to repeat it, what do you mean by vampires, like Interview with the Vampire, vampires? Bram stokers Dracula?”

Michael looks away from me, and when he turns back his eyes are a golden orange colour, his facial features have changed and he now has fangs in his mouth.

I lean forward, I don’t know what’s wrong with me but I’m intrigued to hell about those fangs, and how can he still look so incredibly handsome with his vampire face. Heck I’m kind of not surprised I’m pretty turned on by the Vampire face, Angel and Spike from Buffy used to make me hot and bothered too.

I lean forward taking my hand as I trace my fingertips down his face, tracing his cheek bones, all the way across his lips to his teeth, my finger gets too close to the pointy bit and it pierces the tip, a drop of blood puddles up on my finger, I take it into my mouth sucking it away.

Michaels gaze follows my finger to my mouth, he leans in and kisses me, his tongue pierces my mouth, his tongue attacking my own like he’s trying to suck that little bit of blood into his own mouth. We pull apart both breathless, his face back to normal.

He looks over to the alarm clock on his side table, it reads 11:17pm, “We should go meet your other mates,” he says with a sigh, as much as he’d like to keep you to himself, he knows that if they find out he’s kept you like that without letting them meet you he’ll be in for a hell of a shout down.

I can’t help but to feel both excited and scared, you’re about to meet 4 other soulmates, who are vampires no less. With a nod, you take his hand in your own and you both make your way out of the house.

As we set off on the bike, the wind blows in my hair. I look around at the surroundings which pass us by, the sound of the boardwalk lingers as background noise. Soon enough we’re driving through wooded areas, and we come upon a cliff, Michael pulls us over.

He takes hold of my hand, leading us down some scary looking steps, we keep going down until I can practically feel the spray from the waves hitting my face. I look forward taking in the signs saying no trespassing etc. we keep going forward, descending into the cave i expect it to look like what a cave should look like, instead it looks like a cave that’s swallowed an old looking hotel.

I take a step away from him, this cave feels like home, I have no clue as to why, it doesn’t look like our own home we no longer will ever see, but it feels like it’s mine.

Michaels arms wrap there way around my waist, I lean back into him. “They should be back soon,” he says against the back of my head. He leads me to the sofa, we both get comfortable, I look around spotting what looks like a hallway leading out of the main bit of cave. I walk forward, taking in the miscellaneous bits around, I pass a bookshelf as I go further into the cave. My fingers caress each books spine, whomever the books belong to have taste.

“Come, we can explore later. I heard there bikes. They’ll be here any minute.” He says as he drags me back to the entrance.

Taking a deep breath, I hear laughter echoing down to us. The first person who steps down has bright bleach blonde hair. His eyes meet my own, their name burns on my arm as our eyes meet.

“Mate,” he says as he rushes forward towards me, his hands taking hold of either side of my face.

I look at him, peering into his face, “my name is y/n.” I say as I rub my cheek against his fingerless gloved hand.

“David,” he says after a few seconds, he looks over to Michael his eyes squinting at him, they seem to have a silent conversation. I can’t help but wonder if their vampireness gives them the ability to share thoughts.

Authors note: Thank you guys soooo much for liking both chapters and for the comments. Next chapter we have more interaction with David, and we meet the rest of the boys. This is an AU story, you will see just how much in the following chapters 🖤 let me know if you’d like to be added to the tag list 🖤❤️

@acemisanthropist @richardsamboramylove55

[harrywavycurly]

Secret Rendezvous Part 16: No Promises

Masterlist: Here

CW: None

Tag List: @emma-munson @aol19 @tlclick73 @prestinalove @kailey-firefly @fromasgardandback @therealgothamguardianfr @peaches-roses-sins @hiscrimsonangel @furiousladyking @angelina16torres-blog @sofaritsalrightt @josephquinnsfreckles @starrywhitenight @mrsjellymunson @witchwolflea @jasminelafleur @ohmeg @comeonatmebruh @missmarch-99 @arthurcerverogf @disassociationdive @123iloveyou456 @perplexing-vex

A/N: We love our Gare Bear, enjoy✨

[nepspire]

M*A*S*H Server 🩺

hi mash fandom! for the last few weeks i have been working on a mash roleplay and hangout server. yes that's right, i said roleplay! i know some of you are just like me and my friend, itching to roleplay as your favorite character or your oc.

well here you are!

(more personal note at the end)

-----------------------《☆》----------------------

𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐇 𝟒𝟎𝟕𝟕 𓂃⋆.˚

◜a 15+ server!

💉 ⋮ SFW w/ private NSFW channels ✦ emojis ✦ self-roles

🌡️ ⋮ roleplay channels ✦ easy to navigate ✦ lgbtq+ friendly...and more!

◟"war is war, and hell is hell"

-----------------------《☆》----------------------

i spent the last few weeks putting together this server, after i noticed there being a lack of one. i hope you enjoy it!

[punkrockmlchael]

Secret Admirer

Masterlist | Gareth Emerson Masterlist | Corroded Coffin Masterlist

Gareth Emerson x Fem Cheerleader!Reader

Modern AU ; Secret Admirer to Lovers

Warnings: This is literally just fluff because I just.. needed this, No like literally buckle up for the fluffiest fluff, big bad and scary Gareth is actually a huge and sweet teddy bear when you get to know him, Secret Admirer!Gareth, Cheerleader!Reader, Best Friend!Chrissy, Kind of mean girl cheerleader friends, Gareth has a little sister, Gareth has a cat

Synopsis: Random love letters continue to find their way into your locker at school, it felt like each and every day there was a new one. As time goes on your friends are constantly guessing who they think your "Secret Admirer" actually is. But, they couldn't have been more wrong. This has been giving me trouble because I wanted it to be the best it could be and I continued to come back to it. It has nothing to do with Valentine's Day but I made it a goal to finish it before then and this, uh, this turned out pretty long... So, to anyone that was waiting I'm sorry for the delay but I hope you enjoy how this turned out! Thanks for reading! + once again thank you to the loves of my life @keeryhours + @the-witty-pen-name

Word Count: 7k

Notes. 

Love notes? 

No, just notes… right? 

That’s how it all started… with some small and subtle handwritten notes. Sweet little anonymous notes that always seemed to brighten your day and compliment you when you needed them the most. They came so often you were starting to wonder how you never noticed them being placed inside your locker… they must’ve been stuffed through the gaps but whoever was placing them definitely had to be quick and cunning if you never noticed them before, right?

It felt like every single day when you opened your locker a new handwritten note would fall to the ground and land at your feet. Each and every note seemed to have come from the same person—the consistent handwriting didn’t hide that, it actually only accentuated the fact that all these notes were from one person. But, alas, you never were able to find out who was sending them…

The scribbly and slightly slanted handwriting was a stark contrast to the nice and neat little square the paper was always folded into. It was funny, really, there was so much detail put into the folding of the paper but the handwriting was borderline unreadable unless you squinted and tilted your head to just the right angle. These notes were also never addressed with any name, any initials, anything; never even a clue as to who this person was, they never seemed to slip up and give away their identity. Which left you constantly playing the guessing game of who this person was and why they chose you to supply letters to. 

Each time a new note fell to the ground you’d look around, trying to spot if there was anyone lurking in the shadows and watching you. But, you never found anyone, at least, you never seemed to find someone who was actively watching you and your moves… if they were watching you they were doing it so discreetly that you never once thought anything of it. They were good at concealing their identity, really. 

Every little love note from your secret admirer, as Chrissy had called it, made its way into your folder. It brought a smile to your face every time the folder was opened, but you still wished you knew who exactly was writing the letters that put a huge smile on your face.

And more importantly… did they know they were putting these smiles on your face? Or, was all of this just a trick someone was playing on you? There’s no way you could have a secret admirer… right?

You sighed, yawning softly as you put the combination into your locker on autopilot. You had a late night; a pep rally was directly after school and the championship basketball game followed soon after. So, that meant that you cheered your little butt off for the entire school during said pep rally and for the entire town that had decided to come out to the championship game. All the while the band played in the background to help keep everyone interacted with obnoxious sounds of basketball coming from the court. (You know, the dribbling, the squeaks of sneakers, the shouts from players and the crowd; yeah, all of that.) Fortunately, Hawkins had won the championship game; the first big win in years. Unfortunately, that meant that you were stuck being dragged to a party after the game with your best friends and fellow cheerleaders, Chrissy and Kate. Apparently despite being a school night, the win still needed to be celebrated. But, really, what was the point? The game was already done, the win already secured by Jason Carver as he made the game winning shot at the buzzer. 

God, what more was there to celebrate? You wanted to celebrate your bed. But, no. Instead you were dragged out of the gym and to the biggest party you’d ever been to. Chrissy and Kate assured you that you’d be back home by 9 o’clock at night, but once 11 o’clock hit your body was finally resting in your bed comfortably, only to lie awake for ages. The clock showing 1:25 in the morning was the last thing you remembered before finally falling asleep.

You felt like you were running on empty as you yawned yet again, desperately craving an overly sweet iced coffee flavored with caramel syrup with extra whipped cream on top and maybe some extra caramel drizzle on top of that light and fluffy whipped cream. Yeah… that sounded like heaven right now. Caffeine buzz… sugar buzz… honestly, either sounded like they would help at this point in time. After struggling with your locker combination a couple of times, you finally succeeded and opened your locker to grab your English textbook. As you flung the door open, a small folded piece of paper landed at your feet. 

You raised an eyebrow and looked down at the paper by your feet before looking around the hall to see if there was anyone watching you. When you didn’t see anyone actively paying attention to you, you shrugged, bending down to reach for the paper. 

You held the small, perfectly folded paper in your hands before you opened it carefully, reading the contents to yourself.

You looked really pretty at the school pep rally yesterday.

You blushed to yourself, folding the paper back up quickly. You stuffed it in your pocket and grabbed your English textbook, closing your locker. You turned when you heard your name, looking at Kate as she walked towards you with a big grin on her face. Clearly, she was not affected by the late night like you were. She was looking as peppy and chipper as ever… damn, how did she do it? Did she already down that sugary and caffeine filled coffee of your dreams without you?

“Hey, girl,” Kate smiled, bumping your shoulder with her own gently. “How’d you sleep?” She giggled, taking in your tired and disheveled looking appearance. “I texted you, you didn’t respond. I had thought maybe you didn’t wake up in time for school this morning!” 

Looking at Kate, you rolled your eyes as a small scoff left your mouth. “I saw your text, I just didn’t have the brain power to reply. And as for sleeping? I slept like hell, thanks,” you muttered, making the short walk to your English class. Kate walked alongside you, smiling at you.

“Sorry, girl, I thought maybe you could survive off of a few hours of sleep.” She teased, walking into the classroom with you. You sighed, sinking into your seat.

“I can’t,” you replied softly, grabbing your folder out of your backpack. You grabbed the tiny piece of paper from your pants pocket and slid it in the folder discreetly for safe keeping. “And, I think you know that I can’t. I’m going to be honest, I think the only solution at this point is an iced coffee with too much caramel and too much whipped cream.” 

“Damn. Well, you better wake up quick,” she smirked, watching you rest your head in your hands. “Don’t think you want detention with the freaks today.” She added, motioning towards the boys of the Hellfire club. Eddie and Jeff stood around Gareth’s desk, talking far too loud for only being 7 o’clock in the morning. They continued to laugh and talk amongst each other, something about camping? No, a campaign? What the hell was a campaign? You really weren’t sure what they were going on about this early in the morning… it seemed like a foreign language to you and the other students that heard their conversation.

“Kate, don’t call them that,” you yawned again, watching the three boys continue to laugh until the bell rang. “They’re not freaks,” you mumbled, smiling softly when you saw Gareth look at you and smile.

“They are totally freaks, though.” Kate muttered back, looking at the board in the front of the room. 

But you didn’t hear her. You just yawned again, giving Gareth one last smile before looking at the board as well. You were clinging to the hope that you could at least make it to lunch in order to get a nap in… who needed to eat anyways?

You sat in study hall, reading The Great Gatsby to yourself as others around you mumbled and talked amongst themselves about various topics. No one else was doing any homework, and you didn’t really blame them. No one ever actually did homework in study hall… it was the class that students took to tell their parents they would be getting ahead of their schoolwork, but, really, it was just a free for all social hour. Even the teacher that watched study hall didn’t really care, she used this free time to pretend she was grading papers for her class but she was really just swiping through her latest dating app matches trying to find Mr. Right on her phone under the desk. And, it was kind of funny watching her sit and mumble to herself when she didn’t get a match she wanted but, also, this was Hawkins… not many suitors for a teacher at the local high school in her mid 30s. 

Normally you’d be sitting with Chrissy giggling with each other while watching the teacher as she aggressively swiped on her phone, mumbling to herself more. Then you’d move on to giggling about your latest cheer practice, then you’d be discussing the latest shade of nail polish you bought, then you’d go back to giggling about the latest funny video you saw online before finally discussing the newest skirt you had picked up at the mall. But, not today. Today you were just unlucky as Chrissy was sick which left you all alone in study hall. So, you might as well work on some homework… right?

While reading, you tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, pouting to yourself when it moved over your ear again. You ran your fingers through your locks, sighing when you realized how short your hair actually was now. It framed your face perfectly—like you had wanted—but now it was too short to pull back into a ponytail, to place in a bun and apparently too short to even push back behind your ears to get it out of your face. 

Damn haircut.

You continued to attempt to push the strands of hair behind your ears before sighing to yourself, setting the book down on the table. You leaned back in your seat, crossing your arms over your chest as you looked out the window, watching the wind blow the dry and brittle leaves around the field gently.

The sounds of the people talking around you started to become muffled as you continued to look out the window, watching the leaves dance through the air without a care in the world. There was a big gust of wind, the leaves flying through the wind freely, tauntingly almost, as you sat and watched. Your copy of The Great Gatsby sat long forgotten in front of you as your eyes followed the leaves outside the window.

You glanced over to the table in front of the window, watching as the Hellfire boys sat around in a circle having a very intense discussion. How do these boys always seem to be so in the zone and have the most intense conversations no matter the time of day? It kind of made you envious of the fact that they all enjoyed each other’s company and didn’t care what others around them thought—literally, they were so loud. They were polar opposites of so many others; most people in high school were so caught up in wanting to be popular and needing to fall into a specific category that they would do anything for it. But not these boys; no, these boys were different.

You watched as the boys continued to joke around with each other before Gareth stood up. He nodded at the others and walked past your table, smiling at you a little as he walked towards the door. You smiled at him before you glanced back at your book, picking it up again to attempt to dive back into the story you needed to desperately finish for English class. 

After a few minutes you were finally able to get back into your book. You became so engrossed in the story telling of Nick Carraway that you didn’t notice Gareth slip back into the room and back into his seat at the table with his Hellfire friends. They all went back to talking and joking with each other during the remainder of study hall. 

The annoying ring of the bell and the sound of your classmates packing their belongings up in a hurry was what finally pulled you out of your book. You sighed, marking the page you were on before you stuffed the book in your backpack and stood up, making your way out the door and down the hall to your locker. 

You put your combination in gracefully, opening the door to grab the correct books for your homework. A small piece of paper fell to your feet, landing on top of your converse shoes. You picked it up and unfolded it, reading the note to yourself.

You got a haircut; I like it. It looks good on you.

You blushed softly, reading the words on the paper before you glanced around you. There weren't many people roaming the hall at this time; it seemed like everyone was already out the door or on their way to practices and clubs. The only person walking towards you was your locker neighbor—Gareth. He smiled at you softly before he stopped next to you, putting the combination in his locker. You smiled back, holding the paper to your chest before you attempted to tuck the short strands of hair behind your ear again.

You grabbed your folder from your locker, placing the note inside carefully before shutting the door quietly. You glanced at Gareth, watching as he went through his less than tidy locker. Papers were scattered about the inside, crumpled and ripped and continuing to move with each movement he made.

“Shit,” he mumbled to himself, eyes stuck in his locker. He glanced at you and smiled a little. “Hey, uh, what’re the odds you know the homework we’re supposed to do for English tonight?” 

You smiled, looking at him with a slight nod. “Yeah, uh, here,” you replied, grabbing your planner from your bag. You turned it to the correct day before you handed it to him. Gareth smiled as he took his cellphone out of his pocket, snapping a picture of the homework you had written down. 

“Thanks, you’re a lifesaver… I swear I had it written down but can’t find it.” He stopped for a second, looking up at you. “Did you get a haircut?” He asked softly, his smile growing more. 

You nodded, running your fingers through your now short hair. “Uh, yeah. I’m not a huge fan of it…”

“Well, I think it looks good on you,” Gareth replied, closing his locker. “I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” He asked, looking at you. You smiled, a pink tint covering your cheeks.

“Yeah… see you tomorrow, Gareth…” Gareth nodded at your response, smiling again as he turned away and walked towards the theater room, catching up with his friends Jeff and Eddie. You stood there for a second, watching him leave and begin laughing again with his friends. 

“Hey?” Kate called your name, walking towards you. “You okay? What are you looking at?” She asked, stopping next to you. You hummed, turning towards her.

“Huh? Oh, uh, nothing. Sorry, I was kind of zoning out…” 

“Right, well, ready for practice?” She asked, looking at you.

“Oh, uh, yeah. Sorry.” You replied, turning to walk towards the locker room. 

“What were you looking at?” Kate asked, walking alongside you. You shrugged, not wanting to admit to her that you were watching one of the freaks as she called him.

“Oh, nothing. I thought I heard something… you know?”

Kate raised an eyebrow, not believing you. “Yeah, sure.”

“Stupid fucking glasses,” you muttered to yourself, squinting as you looked at the board in your World History class. You tried to move a bit closer, leaning over your desk as you scribbled some notes sloppily in your notebook. When you realized that even moving closer to the board wasn’t helping, you sighed to yourself. You sat back in your seat as your teacher continued to speak to the entire class, making more and more notes on the white board about the latest World History Lesson.

You took your glasses off and squinted again, trying to keep up with the notes that were being written on the board. A small groan escaped your lips as you gave up on reading the board, instead taking notes based on what your teacher was speaking aloud. 

Gareth glanced up at you as he took his own notes, noticing how you seemed to be struggling with seeing the board. He raised an eyebrow as you put your new glasses back on, eyes directly on your notebook now as you wrote down everything you heard. You attempted to keep up with the notes, struggling slightly as your pen moved across the paper in hasty scribbles, it would be a miracle if you could even reread these notes later. 

Once the bell rang you stood up and moved towards the front of the room, looking at the board once again only this time from a closer view. You quickly wrote down any of the notes you had missed, comparing your notebook to the board a few times before gathering your belongings. You snapped a quick picture of the notes on the board with your phone to compare later before you walked to your locker, smiling at Gareth slightly as he stood at his own locker. 

He smiled at you, nodding at you slightly. “Hey,” he said softly, grabbing his textbook for his next class. “New glasses?” He asked, motioning to his own face.

“Hey, uh, yeah… I, uh, I got them yesterday after school,” you replied, putting the combination into your locker. 

“Nice, well, they look good on you.” Gareth replied, closing his locker. “I really like the black frames on you, they really make your eyes pop.” 

“Thanks,” you smiled, blushing softly. You opened your locker and watched a folded piece of paper fall to your feet. You bent down to grab it, opening it slightly to read the contents to yourself. Your eyes skimmed over the note, squinting slightly as you took in the words that were written on the paper.

You got new glasses, huh? The black frames look totally badass on you. 

You blushed a bit, reading over the note again. Someone else had actually noticed your new glasses and thought they looked good? And, they even went out of their way to compliment you on your new glasses, putting this note in your locker for you to find? You smiled a little, thinking to yourself. You thought these new glasses were terrible… they were just too big and bulky. Not to mention, they kind of gave you a bit of a headache, and they made it difficult to see the board in class right now. You pushed your glasses up higher on the bridge of your nose, examining the note in greater detail. 

God, whose handwriting was that? Who did you know that could write in such a sloppy, slanted manner? And, why—no, how—was the paper always folded up so perfectly?

You folded the note back up and stuffed it into your pocket. Glancing up, you noticed Gareth was gone and was probably off to his next class by now.

“Hey!” You jumped at the sound of Chrissy walking towards you, giggling to herself. “Woah, you good girl?” She asked, looking at you with a smile. 

“Huh? Yeah, sorry, just… have a headache,” you mumbled, grabbing your notebook from your locker before shutting it quickly.

“Yeah, I’ve heard new glasses can do that to you.” She said softly with a small frown. “But, at least you can see, right?” 

“Something like that,” you replied, nodding as you looked at her. “Ready for class?” 

“Yeah, I guess.” Chrissy nodded, walking with you towards your next class. Your right hand made its way into your pocket, playing with the folded note gently. 

God, who was leaving these notes?

“Oh my god, this is so weird,” you smiled from your seat at the cheerleader lunch table. You were sitting next to Chrissy and across from Kate, a wide smile on your face as you looked at both of them.

“What?” Kate asked, smiling at you.

“Yeah, what’re you going on about, girlie?” Chrissy smiled, taking a bite of her salad.

“This is like my first lunch without braces in god knows how long.” You smiled brightly, showing off your perfectly straight and shiny teeth. “There’s so many foods I can eat now like… I can have gum again, I can have potato chips, I can have popcorn. My god, I am so excited to eat all the food I haven’t been able to lately.” 

“How many selfies have you taken so far?” Chrissy giggled, looking at you with a smile. “I have to think you’ve at least taken a couple of selfies already to show off your brand new smile.”

You giggled, taking a bite of one of your baby carrots. “Maybe just a few… you know, just had to take some pictures and test out some new angles,” you smiled more, running your tongue over your teeth. It felt weird. It was smooth, and there were no more braces.

“I have to admit, you look good without the braces,” Kate smiled, looking at you. “Don’t get me wrong, you were always beautiful but you look so happy without them on.”

“Yeah, your smile is so contagious.” Chrissy smiled as well, agreeing with Kate. You smiled at them both, continuing to munch on your baby carrots with ranch.

“You’re both going to make me blush,” you giggled. You finished your lunch while joking with your friends before the bell rang. 

“Shit, I forgot I have a math test,” Kate said, standing up.

“Damn, that means I have a math test,” Chrissy groaned, standing up as well. They both looked at you and smiled, “see you after school, girl.” 

“Yep! See you at cheer practice,” you smiled, rising from your seat. You grabbed your items and made your way to your locker. You put your combination in and opened the door, watching yet again as a small piece of folded paper fell to your feet. This one was a little different, your name was on the outside of the paper with a small smiley face drawn next to it.

You bent down and picked up the paper, reading your name on the outside before you opened it, looking at the contents within.

No more braces, huh? God, your smile is breathtaking. 

You blushed a bright red, unable to hide the wide smile that was forming on your face. Who is the one person that keeps noticing these small little changes about you? And, follow up question, why do they feel the need to tell you through these notes? Are they seeing the smile that forms on your face after you read the notes? Are they doing it as a joke?

Reading over the note again, you smiled as you looked into your locker, reaching for your textbook. You grabbed your folder as well, placing the note inside before you closed the locker door and made your way towards your next class wearing the same smile you had when you first read the note—a huge, bright and contagious smile, as Chrissy called it. 

“Have you figured out who your secret admirer is yet?” Kate, asked as you walked towards your lockers together after cheer practice was finally over. The halls were dim and empty, the three of you the only ones around for the time being. 

“It’s Steve! No, it’s Andy! Wait, maybe it’s Tommy,” Chrissy squealed, naming off all of the popular boys in your grade.

“Chrissy, come on, you’re just throwing names out left and right at this point,” Kate commented, shaking her head. You shrugged, walking towards your locker.

“I think you are both too invested in this,” you said, stopping at your locker. “I mean, they’re just little letters and I don’t even know who they’re from!” You said, putting your locker combination in. “It’s not a big deal.”

“They’re love letters,” Kate corrected, looking at you. “That is, like, so totally a big deal!”

“Yeah! This could be your future boyfriend! Your future husband, the father of your children,” Chrissy gushed, watching as you opened your locker.

“You two are just so—” you started, cutting yourself off as you looked into your locker. You raised your eyebrow, looking at the girls before redirecting your attention back to the locker. 

“We’re so what?” Chrissy asked, giggling.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Kate asked, moving to get a better look in your locker.

You picked up the single red rose that was sitting in your locker, holding it up. You lifted it to your nose, sniffing it gently before you noticed the piece of paper attached to it. You quickly unfolded it, reading the contents as a smile appeared on your face.

You’re the most beautiful girl in the world ♡

You looked up at Kate and Chrissy, smiles forming on their faces as well. “Still think it’s not a big deal?” Kate asked, taking a peek at the love note. “Someone is like, in love with you!”

“Oh, my god,” Chrissy squealed again, jumping up and down. “This is so perfect, oh my god, what if he’s planning on asking you to Prom?”

“Chrissy, I still don’t even know who he is,” you reminded her, looking down the hall to see if you could find anyone. Then again, it was after school and clubs… not too many people were still here willingly. No, just a few teachers and the janitors tended to linger around the building at this time.

“Come on, it has to be Steve, he’s always watching you while we’re cheering!” Chrissy smiled, looking at you. 

“Oh, my god, picture it,” Kate smiled, joining in on Chrissy’s excitement. “Prom; Chrissy and Jason, me and Billy, and you and Steve!”

“Isn’t he with Nancy?” You asked, sniffing the rose again. Kate shook her head rapidly. 

“No! They broke up!”

“Yeah, she’s with Jonathan now,” Chrissy added, looking at you. “Oh, god, I hope it’s Steve!” 

You rolled your eyes, shaking your head at your two friends and their speculations. You grabbed your things and smiled at them, closing your locker. “You guys are crazy,” you said, looking at them. “But, I have to go. I have to go work on a World History project with my partner.”

“Partner?” Chrissy asked, gasping slightly. “Wait, is it Steve?” 

“Or Andy? Or Tommy?” Kate asked, giggling with Chrissy. You shook your head and looked at them.

“No, it’s Gareth.” 

“The freak?” Chrissy asked. You shook your head slightly and looked at her.

“Don’t call him that, he’s actually pretty nice… I think,” you replied, shrugging slightly.

“Oh, god, don’t tell me you have a crush on one of the freaks,” Kate said softly, rolling her eyes. 

“Look, I have to go. I’m already late, I texted him and told him I’d be there around five and it’s almost five thirty!” You panicked, grabbing your phone to send Gareth a text. “I’ll see you tomorrow, bye!” You added, running towards the door as you typed out a text to Gareth. 

You made it to your car and started the short drive to Gareth’s house from the high school. He had sent you a text back that you read once you pulled up to his house, a text back that just said ‘it’s fine, no biggie,’ but to you it felt like a biggie, in fact, it felt like a big biggie. You hated being late and even more, you hated blowing people off. You grabbed your bag and hopped out of the car, walking towards the front door; taking a deep breath, you knocked on the door, waiting for someone to answer. 

After a minute or so a cute little girl opened the door. She was probably around seven or so and looked just like Gareth—she had blue eyes, fluffy hair with little curls thrown about and an adorable smile with a tooth missing in the front. She held a small baby blue teddy bear under her arm and smiled up at you.

“Hi! I’m Gracie,” she beamed, looking at you.

“Hi, Gracie,” you smiled at her. “Is Gareth home?”

She nodded and giggled, turning around. “Gare! Your girlfriend is here!” She turned back to you and smiled, “you’re pretty.”

You blushed softly as she called you her brother’s girlfriend, smiling a little. “Why, thank you, Gracie.” After a minute Gareth came walking to the front door, looking at Gracie.

“Why are you yelling at me?” He asked, noticing you at the door. He smiled at you slightly before looking back at Gracie.

“I said your girlfriend is here,” Gracie said, pointing to you. “She’s pretty, Gare, are you going to kiss her?” 

You stifled a laugh, biting your lip as you looked at her with a small smile. Gareth turned a bright shade of red before he shook his head, pointing towards the living room. “Okay, that’s enough. Don’t you have a tea party to get back to?” Gracie gasped and nodded, looking at Gareth.

“You’re right! Mr. Fluffy is waiting for me!” And with that Gracie was running back to her tea party, forgetting you were even at the door. Gareth shook his head and looked up at you, still a bit pink as he stepped to the side and motioned for you to come in.

“Hey, uh, sorry about… her,” he said softly, closing the door behind you as you walked in. “She’s got… quite the imagination,” Gareth trailed off, looking into the living room as he watched his sister go back to her tea party with her stuffed animals. “We can go to my room,” he said, directing his attention back to you with a small smile.

“That sounds good,” you nodded, smiling as you followed him into the house and up the stairs. Along the way, you took note of all the decorations in the house. There were so many family pictures on the walls along with various other pictures. You lingered on one slightly, smiling at what appeared to be Gareth when he was younger with his parents. He was standing in front of their house in between his mom and dad with a toothless grin on his face, his hair was a mess, a fluffy mop on his head. You smiled softly, eyes flickering from the picture back to the boy in front of you. 

He stopped in front of a door that had a Metallica poster on the back and opened it, motioning for you to go first. You smiled at him, stepping into his room as you looked around. There were metal posters everywhere as well as pictures of him and his friends hanging on the wall. His dresser had a ton of little dragon figurines on it with a book that said Dungeons and Dragons Player’s Handbook. 

“Sorry, it’s kind of messy,” Gareth apologized, moving some of his clothes off of his bed. “I’m actually so terrible at putting my clothes away… very toxic trait of mine,” he mumbled, walking towards his closet. You giggled softly, watching him walk past you.

“Oh, mine too, it’s okay,” you smiled, watching him throw the clothes in his closet.

“You can take a seat on my bed, get comfy or whatever, we might be here for a bit.” He said, looking back at you. You glanced at his bed, taking note of the dark colored bedspread and blankets. You walked towards it, sitting gently. You grabbed your textbook and notebook from your bag, placing them on the bed in front of you as you grabbed a pen. You placed your bag down beside you and jumped when you felt the bed move, looking back to see a black cat staring at you curiously.

“Oh, hi,” you said softly, reaching out to pet the cat gently. Gareth closed his closet door and grabbed his notebook and textbook as well, looking back at his bed with a smile.

“Oh yeah, sorry, I probably should have warned you about him. You’re not like allergic or anything are you?” He asked, sitting next to you on his bed. You shook your head, scratching the cat behind his ears as he started purring, nuzzling against your leg. “Well, that’s Ozzy.” He smiled, “he’s kind of an attention whore.”

“Well, hi Ozzy,” you smiled, scratching his head more. “You are so cute, Gareth didn’t tell me he had such a cute little kitty friend at home.” Gareth smiled a little, watching you interact with Ozzy.

“I kind of forgot you’ve never been to my house, otherwise I would have warned you about Gracie too.” He said, opening his notebook to his most recent notes.

“Yeah, I didn’t know you had a sister either,” you nodded, looking at him with a small smile. “She’s cute, though. She looks just like you.”

“Yeah, I get that alot.” Gareth replied, setting his notebook down as he tapped his thighs for Ozzy. Ozzy meowed and walked towards him, jumping into his lap before he curled up in a ball, purring more. “She is definitely the cuter sibling.”

You giggled to yourself, looking at your notebook in front of you. You smiled as you glanced at his notebook and stopped in your tracks when you saw his notes on the page. More specifically, when you saw his handwriting on the notebook page. That consistent scribbly, slanted handwriting was staring at you, teasing you; taunting you and calling out to you. 

Why? Because you know you’ve seen it before.

In fact, you’ve seen that handwriting so often recently. And it was currently sitting in your folder on numerous pieces of paper as well as sitting in your car with a bright red rose. 

You glanced up at him, watching as he continued to pet Ozzy on his lap.

Holy shit.

Gareth Emerson was your secret admirer. 

You walked through the gym in your red ball gown, weaving through the groups of people. While you had come to this dance with Chrissy and Kate, they were off now dancing with their boyfriends. Which was fine, it just meant that you were now alone for the time being. 

You made your way towards the punch table, grabbing yourself a cup before you took in your surroundings. You glanced around the room, sipping on the punch. Your eyes landed on the one person you were looking for–Gareth Emerson. He was sitting alone at a table in the corner, messing with his tie. 

It had been about a month since you had realized that Gareth was the one supplying the letters in your locker. And, since that day, his letters haven't stopped… in fact, they have actually increased to coming daily. Sometimes even twice a day. You wondered if he knew that you knew who he was… if he did know that you knew, he was doing an amazing job at hiding it. If he didn’t know then… well, he was just crazy.

Because you had been wanting to say something to him ever since the eventful day when you first recognized his handwriting and found out who he was. You just never found the right time. At least, until tonight—prom night. For some reason, tonight seemed like the perfect time to tell him, to show him, to confess your mutual feelings that had been growing towards him since you started spending time with him one on one. 

It was prom after all, wasn’t tonight about love and relationships and all that other cheesy shit?

You smiled to yourself and grabbed another cup of punch carefully. You made your way towards the table Gareth was sitting at, taking a seat next to him. He looked up at you and smiled, “hey, you, uh, you look great,” Gareth said, taking in your appearance. He smiled softly as he watched the red lace fabric hug your upper body and curves before it flowed into a poofy ball gown skirt at your hips. Damn, you looked too good in that, and red was always his favorite color. Curse you for picking up on that and for wearing it specifically for him.

“Thanks,” you smiled, setting both cups of punch down on the table. “You clean up pretty well too, you know.” You giggled, looking at him. “I have to admit, I’m pretty surprised you’re here. School dances don’t seem like your kind of thing. But, I brought you some punch.” 

Gareth blushed softly, shrugging as his fingers continued to play with the end of his red tie. “Thanks. And, I had to wear this suit somewhere, you know?” He replied, looking up at you. “Are you… uh, all alone tonight?” He asked, his right hand moving towards the cup of punch you placed in front of him. 

“Kind of,” you responded, looking at him with a smile. “I came with Kate and Chrissy but they’re with Jason and Billy.” You motioned towards your friends who were dancing with their boyfriends. You hung your purse on the edge of your chair before resting your arms on the table. You looked at Gareth with a smile on your face, “what about you?”

Gareth smiled, looking at you. “What about me?” He asked, taking a drink of the overly sweet punch you had brought him.

“I mean,” you smiled, “where are your friends? Or are you also all alone tonight?”

“Ah,” he smiled, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Kind of? Eddie is flirting with girls, trying to get someone to dance with him and, honestly, I’m not too sure where Jeff and Grant ended up…”

“And you’re not asking any girls to dance?” You asked, looking at Gareth. He looked up at you and shook his head.

“Oh, no, I don’t think any girl would want to dance with me anyways…”

“That’s not true,” you replied, “I bet there are plenty of girls that would like to dance with you.”

“Yeah, right,” Gareth shook his head. “Like who?”

You shrugged, smiling at him. “Good question.” You reached for your purse, pulling out a small piece of folded paper. You handed it to him and giggled softly.

He looked at you and raised an eyebrow, looking down at the folded piece of paper in his hand. He unfolded it carefully, looking at the contents carefully. 

Will you dance with me, my secret admirer? ♡

Gareth read the paper and looked up at you, turning a bright red. “How, uh… how did you know it was… me?” He asked softly, folding the paper back up. He tucked it into his jacket pocket gently, eyes on you again as he looked you up and down subtly. 

“Well, your handwriting during our History project kind of gave it away for me,” you giggled. “So, will you dance with me?” You asked, standing up. You placed your hand out for Gareth to grab, smiling when he stood up and placed his hand in yours.

“Of course I’ll dance with you,” he said softly, pulling you towards the dance floor just in time for a slow song. “Though, I must admit, I am terrible at dancing.” 

“Yeah, me too,” you replied, wrapping your arms around his neck gently. Gareth smiled softly, placing his hands on your hips gently. 

“You’re not like… I don’t know… weirded out by me placing those notes and stuff in your locker, are you?” He asked softly, pulling you closer to his body gently.

“No, not really… should I be?” You asked, smiling up at him. “If we’re being honest with each other, I have always had a tiny bit of a crush on you and I was secretly hoping you were the one planting all the letters for me…” 

“Really?” Gareth asked softly, swaying with you to the music. “Well, if we’re being honest with each other… the truth is I’ve had a crush on you for quite a while, and, I guess I was just… nervous that you wouldn't like a freak like me,” Gareth admitted softly, leaning closer to you.

“What do you mean?” You asked, moving your face closer to his.

“Well, you’re a cheerleader, I’m a freak… we just, don’t really go together, you know?” 

“Why are you calling yourself a freak?” You frowned. 

“Because, well, that’s kind of what I am? You’re popular and I’m just, well, a freak.”

“No,” you argued, shaking your head. “You’re really cool and really sweet and to be honest… being popular doesn’t mean anything. I like you for you, and truth is; I’d love to get to know the real you more.” 

“Really?” Gareth asked, smiling softly. 

“Really.”

“Well, uh, in that case,” Gareth said, leaning closer. “Can I… uh, can I kiss you?” He asked softly. 

“Please,” you replied. 

Gareth smiled and leaned in closer, placing his lips against yours softly. You smiled, kissing him back as your fingers played with his hair on the back of his neck gently. Gareth’s right hand moved up to your face, caressing your cheek softly as he pulled you closer to him with his left hand that was still placed in your hip. 

He pulled away slightly, resting his forehead against yours. “Would you, maybe, uh, want to go out with me sometime?” He stuttered out softly, looking at you. 

“Absolutely.” You replied, leaving another soft kiss on his lips.

gareth tag list: wanna be added? comment + let me know! @keeryhours ; @darkyuffie-blog ; @luveediary ; @the-witty-pen-name ; @bastardstevie ; @pupwrites ; @swiftieintheupsidedown ; @hawkinsmafia ; @the-unforgivenn ; @corrodedcorpses ; @potatoesenpaii ; @cowboylikemunson

[penny00dreadful]

This is so fucking stupid and I'm not sorry. Inspired by this video of the two guitarists from DragonForce taking the piss out of Sabaton(affectionately).

Jeffington: Just ended your whole career on live 😘

Eddie scrunched his eyes closed then wrenched them open again, trying to make sense of what he was seeing on his screen. It was too early in the fucking morning for this shit. 

Whatever.

He buried his face back in between Steve’s shoulders and allowed himself to fall asleep once more.

Corroded Coffin had only started making it big in the early 90’s when they split right down the middle. As time went on they started to drift towards different subgenres. Jeff and Grant had wanted to explore a more international sound, while Gareth and Eddie were happy to stay in the power metal scene with just a touch of neoclassical. 

They had tried to make it work, but the sounds were just too different and while Eddie and Grant wanted to continue on with lyrics full of fantasy and gothic romance, Jeff and Grant had wanted to focus more on ‘the human condition’.

So they separated. Eddie and Gareth had kept the Corroded Coffin name while Jeff and Grant travelled, exploring their sound.

There was no animosity. They were all still the best of friends. Even as Jeff and Grant had settled in Stockholm, where they had quickly shot to stardom with their new band members, Eddie and Gareth made their home in California enjoying their own success. They met up as often as they could, whenever tour dates aligned or they were booked into the same festivals.

Eddie and Steve were godfathers to Grant’s youngest daughter.

He and Gareth had been groomsmen in Jeff’s wedding.

They were solid.

Which was why the text from Jeff was more exasperating than worrying. 

Plus it was like… nine in the morning which, granted, wasn't early, early but Eddie was a damn rockstar.

And he might have lost track of time reading last night and stayed up until four but that's besides the point. 

But then Steve was handing him his morning coffee with a kiss, saying Robin had sent him a link to something and fine. He’d go watch whatever stupid shit Jeff pulled.

Eddie settled back into bed because he could and it was a Sunday.

Sue him.

But he couldn’t decide if he should be fake-mad or wildly entertained because the link Robin had sent opened the VOD about an hour into the stream, just in time for Grant to say “Should we do Corroded Coffin?”

Both Jeff and Grant were sitting in Jeff’s studio space in front of Jeff’s computer with a range of instruments behind them, grinning at each other.

“Oh shit, definitely!” Jeff stood and seemed to think about it for a second before picking up one of his guitars, a bright acid green with black tendrils running throughout. “The most dramatic of the bunch,” he leaned into the mic, gesturing at the guitar before taking his seat again, “just like their frontman.”

Eddie rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless. 

“You think you can shred like Munson?” Grant asked, leaning forward and starting to tap out drum beats on the laptop.

Jeff scoffed. “Yeah right. Let me just play at five-fucking-thousand bpm and sing at the same time. It’s gonna be an approximation at best.”

Surprisingly enough the music they came up with did sound very close to Corroded Coffin’s sound. Grant relied heavily on the kick-drum and high hat to a ridiculous degree for Gareth's part and yeah, fair.

Gareth did love his high hat.

Jeff played the fastest guitar riff he could muster which honestly wasn’t that bad. He couldn’t go quite as hard as Eddie could but guitar was always Eddie’s first love and he was a master at his craft. Jeff gave the camera a cheeky wink as he used the computer to speed the guitar solo up, making it sound far more complex.

“I swear to god,” Eddie muttered to himself, “if they insinuate that I do that, I’ll fucking-”

“Eddie would never.” Jeff said, responding to someone in the chat who’d asked that very question.

Grant looked up with a sly smile. “Oh, god no. He’d never. He’s too proud for that.”

Cheeky bastards.

“You know what this needs?”

“Female backing vocals?”

“Yes!" Jeff snapped his fingers. "Exactly. Like something pulled from Jackson’s Lord of the Rings!”

“Oh come on!” Eddie pouted, but even still he could tell they weren’t actually making fun.

A notification popped up on Eddie’s phone.

Gare-Bear: Have you watched the stream?

Eddie: Watching right now. They’re starting on the lyrics.

Gare-Bear: Did Robin send you the link?

Eddie: Yeah.

Gare-Bear: Okay, keep watching.

Eddie: 👍

By the time the guys had hashed the lyrics out, punctuating them with high falsetto points that freaked Jeff’s cats out, Eddie was giggling into his coffee. The lyrics were so comically bad but they were so Corroded Coffin at the same time.

I wear armour and I am sad. I'm all alone and I am sad.  Such a lone wolf am I.  Except I'm not because here comes this hot man who's totally not my husband. Bats and demons and darkness and death. Bow down to me.  Kneel before me.  I am your master.  This is about sex. Oh, look, a dragon! I'll suck your blood then I'll fuck you through the wall. Except I won't because you're an allegory for my husband again. I'll fuck him instead. Every song involves him in some way. Because I'm a big fucking sap.

And then it happened. That crafty wench.

A message popped up in the chat.

BuckyBirdie: Needs more dick sucking lyrics.

“Holy shit.” Grant whipped out his phone. “R- Birdie? Is that you? Stay right there, hold on.”

While Jeff continued to play through the guitar, Grant disappeared, raising the phone to his ear before coming back a few minutes later and whispering something to Jeff.

Jeff’s whole face split into the most mischievous of smiles and Eddie only had time to think oh no before Robin’s face appeared, joining the stream with a tired if not slightly manic expression, all topped off by her yummy sushi pyjamas.

The first thing Grant said to her was “What fucking time is it over there, Birdie?” 

“I dunno.” She shrugged, looking down at her watch. “Like half six in the morning?”

“Oh. Could be worse then.”

“I haven’t slept yet.” She said with a bright smile.

“Dude! Why not?”

“I got into cryptography again last night and I haven’t stopped. Don’t tell Steve.”

Oh, I am so telling Steve. Eddie thought to himself.

“God. What a fuckin’ nerd.” Jeff punctuated his statement with a loud strum of his guitar.

Robin stuck her tongue out. “Takes one to know one.”

“Ouch. Right in my middle schooler heart.”

“Anyway, a little birdie told me you boys need some backing vocals?”

Eddie didn’t know how he was going to get her back for this, but he was sure he’d be able to figure something out eventually.

Like banging pots and pans in her hallway while she slept off her cryptography binge.

Though it was almost worth the hilarity because noted lesbian Robin Buckley happily sat there, singing about dick and tongues and assholes in a high ethereal voice that was then layered behind Jeff's.

By the end, the chat was going wild asking when it was going to be available to stream because even though it was a parody song, it was annoyingly catchy. Just before they signed off, Jeff and Grant let their audience know they’d ask Eddie and Gareth for permission before they’d do anything.

Eddie minimised the video and opened up his chat with Gareth.

Eddie: You wanna let them release it?

Gare-Bear: Fuck yeah!

Eddie: Awesome.

[sp0o0kylights]

Part Eight

A03

We left off: Eddie has an injured leg, Gareth is concussed, there’s a now injured manticore in Hawkins and possibly a moving gate in the walls of the lab, which is storing mysterious, glowing green goo. Prior to all that, Steve was having a breakdown about leaving Hawkins brought on by his parents returning home.

Gareth has noticed Steve’s “crush” on Eddie, *all* of Hellfire is painfully aware of Eddie’s crush on Steve, and Hopper just showed up to the Byers in Scooby Doo pajamas.

Cue the music.

One minute Hopper was shaking a finger at the pile of children on the couch, spittle flying from his mouth as he demanded everyone both talk and shut up--

(“They can’t do both, Jim.”

“I don’t care Joyce, I--”

“Well I care, and you’re in my house, so I suggest you shut up.”

“Fine, but--”

“Jim!”

“I was shutting up!”)

--and the next Steve had wrapped Gareth’s own hands around a warm mug, quietly leaning into his ear to ask if he was okay.

Gareth nodded jerkily, blinking back to the present, fighting off the panic attack that had dogged him all night.

“Yup. I’m great--good! I’m totally good.”

Steve snorted (a gross but common Steve sound) but otherwise left Gareth with a squeeze of his shoulder, before taking the other mug he had over to Eddie.

Who, Gareth realized, was staring at Hopper with the resigned air of a man glaring down his own executioner.

“What I don’t understand,” Lucas was saying as Steve tried to get Eddie to take a mug, “is what the manticore’s guarding.”

“You didn’t hear the green goo story?” Dustin said conversationally, like this was a Tuesday and not the middle of the night after a monster attack, head craning around to look at his friend.

Gareth had to give it to the kid, he had balls of fucking iron to ignore the look Hopper was shooting his way.

“Green goo?” Hopper butted in, needing an answer but clearly not eager to hear it

(Behind Gareth, Steve had resorted to physically taking Eddie’s hands, and wrapping them around the mug. He kept them there, fingers over Eddie’s as he leaned in, whispering something into the older teen’s ear, clearly trying to get his attention off Hopper.

It didn’t seem to be working until Steve said--or did--something, and then suddenly Eddie was taking in a shuddering, wobbly breath, eyes darting to look up into Steve’s. He took the mug much the same way Gareth had, though he blanked his face out a hell of a lot faster.)

“Glowing green goo. It’s--wait, where’d that guy go, he explained it really well.” Dustin leaned his entire body out from the couch, looking towards the wall of Hellfire members. “Hey, you! Stuck Stewart!”

Grant and Jeff slid away from Stewart immediately.

Who pointedly dumbly towards himself, squawking out a startled, “Me?”

“Yes, you.” Dustin said, like this was a fucking gameshow. “Tell Hop what you told me.”

As Hopper turned to face them with a startled expression, it became evident that he was just now realizing the teenagers in the kitchen weren't the ones he had expected to encounter.

His gaze swept over them in a clinical assessment, as if memorizing their faces so he could write them up later. Each of them let out a sigh of relief when he moved onto the next person, before his eyes landed on Eddie--and stayed.

“Munson?” He hissed, causing half of Hellfire to flinch.

To Eddie’s credit, he didn't react. Just reclined in the chair like he owned it, and raised the mug of chocolate Steve had just let go of.

“Nice jammies, Hop.” He said in lue of a greeting.

“Ignore him.” Dustin demanded, in a tone that had Jeff and Grant both side eyeing him. “The glowing goo is the important thing here.”

He gestured with his hand in a 'get on with it' motion, shooting an impatient look at Stewart.

Who audibly swallowed.

“So there uh, there was a rumor…” Stewart started, the story coming out in jerky, hesitant waves.

He kept looking at Hopper as if the man would interrupt him at any minute, and Gareth couldn’t tell if he was hoping to be cut off or happy to be allowed to talk.

He got it all out though--the rumors about the goo, the weird trucks and people loitering around town.

How a friend (omitting, Gareth noted with muted amusement, that Mikey was both an adult and the Hideout’s bartender) put it all together, spun it up into some crazy conspiracy theory and fed it to half the town’s best gossips.

The entire time Stewart spoke, Hopper was staring Eddie down.

Hellfire didn’t miss it.

Joyce didn’t either, and even Jonathan looked a bit fidgety.

(The kids looked perfectly fine, but then, they didn’t seem to realize Hopper wasn’t exactly focused on the whole goo thing.)

Stewart’s story ended, tailing off awkwardly when it became clear he had nothing else to add, and that everyone was waiting for Hopper to say something.

“Jim…” Joyce started, tone low in warning, which seemed to kickstart the chief back to life.

“Right. So we have one group of dumbass teenagers who went into the lab on a dare,” Hopper drawled, in that “don’t you bullshit me” tone cops just loved to use, “a second group of dumbass children who went in because they apparently, haven’t learned their lesson about meddling in government affairs, and Munson here—-”

Hopper flicked a hand at Eddie.

“—-was involved because his friends called him for help and not because the lab is the perfect spot to get high with a large number of people. Do I have that right?”

They all exchanged a nervous look with one another, but no one said a word.

Hellfire as a whole was used to getting their shit rocked by teachers, shop owners, and occasionally, the cops (usually an idiot who wanted to throw their weight around by busting up band practice or searching a car for drugs).

Pissing off the Chief of police though? That was an activity Eddie typically did solo.

And boy was Hopper pissed off, fury building waves as he leaned in like a predator opening its mouth right before it ate its prey.

“This shit? The Upside Down, monster shit? Isn’t something I screw around with. Especially not when my daughter’s involved. So we’re going to try this again, and this time, I want to hear the truth.”

He held up a hand to halt the explosion of protests from the kids section without bothering to even look in their direction.

“From Munson.” He finished, crossing his arms over his chest.

Eddie answered by taking a noisy slurp from his mug.

Gareth winced, but this sort of back and forth was par the course for a Munson-Hopper encounter, and he knew better than to get in the middle of it.

Steve, apparently, did not.

“Stewart just told you the truth.” He said flatly, giving Hopper a look that was just as stubborn as the chief’s own.

Who very much did not appreciate it.

“Harrington--”

“You said it yourself.” Steve interrupted, holding firm against the chief’s scowl. “The Upside Down isn’t something we screw around with.”

“Tell him, Steve!” Dustin crowed from the couch.

“Shut it.” Steve and Hopper responded in unison, and then did a remarkable job of pretending they hadn’t said a word.

(Gareth had the worst vision of Steve in an alternate life as a police officer. A deputy maybe, with shaved hair, constantly chewing on tobacco and fucking up poor people’s lives. He’d probably have an obnoxious nickname. Like Gator or some shit.

Thank God Hellfire had gotten there first.)

“I was there when they called Eddie.” Steve continued, before Hopper could growl something out. “If we were all doing drugs, we’d still be high, and Eddie wouldn’t have teeth marks in his thigh.”

There was yet another pause, in which Gareth was fairly sure the tension was going to give him a heart attack.

Within it, Hopper did a double take, noting Eddie’s injury for the first time--and how he only had one pant leg, the other replaced by a stark white bandage and pale skin.

“Fine.” He grit out, teeth clenched so tight Gareth thought they might shatter against each other. “Is there anything else I should know about the ‘goo story’ then?”

“You missed the part where El wouldn’t let us call you, because she felt you wouldn’t listen to her.” Mike snarked from El’s right.

“Wonder why.” Max added darkly, from her own spot on El’s left. “Don’t you have a walkie? Why didn’t you answer the code red?”

Apparently, they had decided Steve had won this entire exchange, and it was safe to dogpile on their own displeasure. Gareth was absolutely astounded that the glare Hopper turned their direction didn’t melt them all on the spot.

(Likely, given how this all seemed to be a normal encounter for everyone involved, they were used to it.

Gareth was very much not.)

Hopper whipped his head around to Mike, anger still simmering, “And I’m sure you, Michael Wheeler, didn’t have any qualms about not calling me.”

“He did not want me to go either.” El said bluntly. “I told him you would not listen, and if either of you stopped me, people would die.”

She nodded then, towards Stewart, as if to indicate he was one such person.

For the second time that night, Stewart pointed at his own chest, eyes saucer wide.

“No one else,” El finished grimly, “will die.”

The chief dragged his hands through his hair and then down his face.

“Alright.” He forced out. “I get your point-- but! We’re talking about how you went about this later. Not now!” He added, before the kids could erupt. “Later!”

“So what are we going to do about the Manticore?” Mike spat the question more so than he said it, but Gareth was happy someone was bringing that part up.

Because monster problem or not--what the fuck were they going to do about it?

Since the Chief of Police was here, did that mean the entire police force knew there were monsters in Hawkins? Was there some kind of--monster hunting squad that went around at night?

The more he thought about it the more questions he had, and in turn, the more Gareth’s anxiety threatened to mutiny once again, which was not helped by the concussion he was positive he’d acquired.

Hopper scoffed, “We are not doing anything. We are going back to bed after I call your parents and tell them you’ve been out all night!”

Groans filled the room, the sound of children facing a future grounding, en mass.

“Then,” he continued loudly, “I’ll call Owens.”

“And if Owens doesn’t do anything?” Dustin challenged. “‘Cause he clearly didn’t clean up well last time. Are we just going to let a manticore run around? What if more come through? What if--”

“Just because none of you trust me doesn’t mean I don’t do my job,” Hopper interrupted, “which includes knowing what to do if this shit came back. We adults did discuss that after last time, believe it or not.”

Gareth was old enough to school the doubt off his face, but the kids had no such qualms.

“What Hop means is that we need to have a little more faith in him.” Joyce soothed, and Gareth noticed that unlike a lot of adult men he’d been around, Hopper let her. “He’ll make sure it’s taken care of.”

“This just means we’re waiting until he falls in a hole again.” Mike stage whispered to Will, who coughed hard to hide his laugh.

“There aren’t any holes this time!” Hopper screeched, voice rising in pitch.

“Okay, okay, enough.” Joyce pacified, moving to stand in the middle of the room (notably,between the harpy children and Hopper). “What’s important is that everyone lived, we know there’s a thing in the lab, and that no one is going back for it until it’s dead. Agreed?”

She paused, and when no such agreements came, hardened her voice in a way that had every person under eighteen snapping to attention. “Agreed!?”

“Yes.” Chorused the children (and at least three members of Hellfire.)

“Good.” Joyce nodded so hard her hair bounced. Putting her hands on her hips, she added; “Now we start the process of getting all of you home.”

“Someone get me the phone, we’re starting with you Wheeler.” Hopper tacked on.

Mike just flung himself back into the couch with a dramatic eye roll and a not so subtle raise of his middle finger.

“As for the rest of you, get out.” Hopper said, weaving past Steve to get to the phone in the kitchen.

A second later, when it was clear no one had moved, he poked his head around the corner.

“Do I need to call all your parents too?” He demanded, as Hellfire dumbly stood there. “Get!”

Hellfire got.

xXx

Hopper grabbed Steve right before he’d left, muttering something about needing to talk to him and Jonathan.

Alone.

Eddie chose to hang back, propping himself on the van's hood, and Gareth, not wanting to go home, opted to keep him company

“Hopper’s not going to eat him.” He whispered, when two minutes dragged into seven and the fidgeting got to be too much for him.

“True, but he's catching hell because Hopper's not buying his story." Eddie retorted, voice equally hushed.

As if raising their voices might summon Hopper and his fiery temper right to them.

"It's nothing we haven't heard before," Gareth remarked, resisting the urge to suggest once more that Eddie get off his leg and go sit in the car.

“There weren't monsters before.” Eddie countered, mouth around a hangnail.

“Doesn’t matter.”

“It might.” Eddie muttered darkly. “If Hopper makes it matter, it fucking might.”

“How the hell is Hopper going to make it matter?" Gareth mused aloud, though deep down, he already knew.

Eddie was Hellfire's guardian, both within and beyond the school walls. Being with him meant having a shield to hide behind, protection against the casual cruelty the people of Hawkins were so fond of.

Sure, there were mean kids, nasty teachers, and even the occasional unpleasant gas station attendant, but they weren't the real issue—not by a long shot.

It was the ones who looked at Eddie and truly believed some of the bullshit.

Hopper didn’t act like the church folk. The ones who sent their pastors and youth leaders out on the warpath, knocking on doors and setting up outside of businesses.

Those individuals had attempted to drive away Eddie's friends before, thinking they could "rescue them" in the process—Gareth himself had once endured a week of being stalked by some idiot he had stood up to in Eddie's defense.

The man had made it his mission, and Gareth, too young at the time to know better, had felt helpless as every adult he turned to dismissed the blatant stalking.

All because that "nice" youth leader claimed he just wanted to help.

The asshole had practically hunted Gareth down-- always making himself known, always accompanied by a friend or two. A couple of little comments in his pocket, ready and waiting, and a grin that didn’t match his eyes.

The words he said weren’t threats, but the tone he said them in was.

Eddie got it worst of all of them though, when the church crowd started.

Their attention wasn’t always on him, and truthfully they hadn’t really put any real energy into their own bullshit for a few years now--but they always came back to him.

Like he was an old and favored chew toy, and if they just tried hard enough, they’d crack him in two.

Which meant this wasn’t about what Hopper said.

It’s what he could do.

Thankfully Steve appeared before Eddie could spiral further, looking surprised to see them still waiting.

“Oh.” He ran a hand through his hair as he came down the stairs. “You guys didn’t have to stay.”

Eddie shot him a flat look.

"And leave you alone with Hopper?"

"I wasn't exactly alone, but thanks."

Steve's smile was slight, tinged with relief, and Eddie fell right into him, leaning into Steve's space (and making a show of his limp as he did).

“We were going to ask if you’re coming back with us anyway. Figure you might not want to go back to your place after tonight.” He said, as if he and Gareth had discussed any such thing.

You waited outside just to tell me that?" Steve asked, a hint of amusement in his voice as he gently pushed Eddie back. "Ed, you should be sitting in your car, off that leg."

(Not that Steve wanted Eddie to go far, Gareth noted with his own amusement, as Steve stepped to follow.)

"I tried telling him that, but he wouldn't listen!" He tattled to Steve, simply because he could.

He got a middle finger behind Eddie’s back in retaliation.

“I figured it’d piss Hopper right off if I offered you a place to crash right after he warned you away from me.” Eddie said, ignoring the both of them.

“He didn’t warn me away.” Steve said, beginning the process of herding the older teen into his van.

Eddie let out a snort. "Seriously? That wasn't a full-blown 'rethink your life choices, hanging out with trash like him' speech?”

“You’re not trash.”

Eddie snorted again, hasher this time before glancing away.

He was entirely unprepared for Steve to reach out, catching him by the arm much the same way Hopper had caught him.

“Eddie.” Steve said, abruptly serious. “You’re not trash.”

He said it like he meant it, voice low, eyes drilling into Eddie’s.

Gareth couldn't tear his own eyes away, even though that stare wasn't even intended for him.

“No one here is trash,” Steve declared firmly. “Hopper was just asking if Jonathan and I could babysit El for a couple of nights while he’s working. But even if he had tried to tell me I couldn't hang out with you, I would have told him to shove it. Like you said earlier today—we don’t abandon our friends, and we don’t leave them to deal with stuff alone.”

Gareth knew his best friend like the back of his hand and that level of honesty?

It was too much for Eddie, and normally, he’d run.

Was in fact, a little more than infamous for bolting when confronted about his own insecurities.

Maybe it was because Eddie's leg was in no shape for him to run, or maybe it was the reassuring grip of Steve's hand on his arm. It could even have been the intensity in Steve's gaze, as if he could convince Eddie of anything just by staring at him--but Eddie didn’t move.

He didn't even avert his gaze, although Gareth half expected him to.

“If you say so.” He tried to sing-song the words but they fell flat. “Let’s go, the Munson couch awaits us.”

Steve didn’t say anything about how Eddie pulled himself away, backing out of range.

He watched him though.

Even after Eddie had turned around, waving a hand at Gareth to get into the drivers seat.

Steve kept watching until Gareth nudged him out of it, murmuring a quiet “Come on, dude” to get him going too.

Saw the little frown line burrow its way into Steve’s forehead, like he’d figured out part of a puzzle that had long evaded him, and didn’t like the answer he’d come too.

(Gareth himself didn’t have time for any such revelations, given he faced the monstrous task of driving Eddie’s van.

His learners permit quaked in his wallet at the mere thought, but somehow, they made it back in one piece anyway.)

xXx

Steve had reassured them that feeling restless was normal after….

Well.

After.

(There wasn’t a word strong enough to capture the intensity of the last few hours.

Gareth eventually stopped trying, accepting it as a blur of horror, anxiety, and impending dread. It felt like a nightmare that others remembered vividly but faded for him, like a movie becoming less real once you left the theater.)

Their conversation centered around going through the last few years, Steve filling in holes that made life make a hell of a lot more sense compared to all the bullshit the government had come up with.

None of it sounded real, and several pieces had Eddie and Gareth both gawking, but after the lab?

Not a part of it could be easily discounted.

Gareth couldn’t pinpoint when he finally succumbed to sleep.

Hadn’t intended too, and knew immediately upon clawing back to reality that his back was in a world of hurt from the way he’d curled into Wayne’s ancient armchair.

It was still dark outside, the lights warm on the inside of the trailer, and he figured he couldn’t have been out for long.

The blurry red 5:05 from his watch confirmed his suspicions, and Gareth got two seconds to wonder if this is his life now--catching whatever sleep he can in weird little bursts-- before harsh whispering picked up to his left.

The Munson’s living room was small. Small enough for Eddie to know better about how the sound carries, even if he was whisper-fighting.

Or at least, whisper-arguing, anyway.

“I just wish you’d see yourself the way everyone else sees you.” Steve was saying, sounding both bitchy and confused. Like he couldn’t quite believe he was having such a stupid conversation, but was going to point out the obvious anyway.

Eddie wasn’t doing much better, his words as sharp as the knife he’d used to stab the manticore.

“What, as the town freak? The local satanist? The ugly queer who's out to steal the children?”

Gareth managed to sneak a peak in time to see Eddie’s face twisted in disgust.

“Not those assholes--the ones that know you. Everyone that matters.” Steve countered, easily and immediately. “The Hellfire Club, Wayne, Dustin.”

There was a pause, but he could have sworn he heard Steve follow up with a quiet but hopeful, “Me.”

Gareth twisted ever so slightly, giving himself an eyeful of the room.

Both his friends sat on the couch facing each other. They were close, like they’d been sharing snacks or body heat before things had gone south, Eddie’s hands nearly missing smacking into Steve’s face as he gestured.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.” Steve continued doggedly.

Eddie’s hands froze in air, before he could make whatever gesture he’d intended.

“What?”

“I said I’m sorry.” Steve repeated, that painful sincerity Gareth would have never guessed him capable of on full display. “For the part I played in calling you all that shit. You’re none of those things, Eddie. You’re the opposite of all of it.”

The hands dropped into Eddie’s lap, like twin birds shot out of the sky.

“I am, though.” He muttered.

Steve’s frown deepened, his reassurance quick. “No, you’re not.”

“Yeah, Steve. I am.”

“Okay, fine.” Angry, Steve leaned forward into Eddie’s space.

Backed into the side of the couch and wall as he was, it trapped Eddie quite nicely.

“I know the parents down at the church don’t know the difference between D&D and actual demons, but I do. So unless you suddenly learned how to be quiet about fucking ritual sacrifice of all things, then I refuse to buy that you’re a literal Satanist and not just engaging in the drama.”

Gareth saw the moment Eddie realized he was pinned, that he wasn’t getting out of his conversation without shoving Steve back.

Knew this was building into a blow up before Eddie’s mouth even opened.

“I’m not a Satanist, but I definitely am queer.” He shot back, eyes hard. “So you can shove whatever grand ideas you’re having about my character back up your ass.”

Gareth hadn’t moved much, years of living with his siblings making it possible to watch what’s happening without alerting anyone in the room that he was awake, but he almost ruined it with how quickly he sucked in his own breath.

Steve was a good guy.

Had been a good guy to them, but there have been plenty of other “good guys” Gareth knew who suddenly weren’t so great the second Eddie’s sexuality came up.

It’s why Gareth himself hadn’t often admitted to his own muddled sexuality, too afraid of getting the same bullshit aimed his way.

Why would anyone want to pursue men, after watching more than a few realize they liked Eddie and promptly lose their shit so hard they became a danger to any man who so much as looked at them the wrong way?

It was terrifying--and so was the realization that Gareth can’t kick Steve’s ass. 

He doesn’t want to even try, but gets himself ready for emotional upheaval anyway--and whatever may come after.

Even if they’re all dead on their feet from fighting a literal monster.

‘Excellent fucking timing Eds.’ He thought sourly, despite the guilt of thinking it. It’s not Eddie’s fault--and Steve’s reaction, whatever it may be, isn’t either.

'God does it suck to be gay in a rural ass, small town.'

Thankfully, Steve doesn’t pull away.

Doesn’t act like Eddie’s got a contagious disease like some of the basketball team does, or like it’s his God given duty to either rid the earth of him now that Eddie’s finally admitted to what half the town has accused him of being, or have some violent crisis over his own clearly repressed gay crush. 

Is still very much in Eddie’s space, even if he’s being awfully quiet--for long enough that Gareth can see Eddie start to shut down.

“Okay.” Steve said finally, clearly knowing he needs to say something but seemingly struggling to figure out what, “But you’re not evil, and you’re definitely not stealing children, so you’re beating out the US government.”

“Oh boy, I beat out the government that’s kidnapping and torturing people! Such a high bar.”

Steve winced. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Yeah? What did you mean then?” Eddie challenged. “We both know you’re not the kind to want to associate with the queers.”

“I didn't, I--” Steve took a breath, fumbling and knowing it. “I know I've been an asshole in the past, and I also know I was wrong."

He stared hard at Eddie. "I don’t care if you’re gay. That doesn’t, that shouldn’t--matter.”

Eddie met his gaze. 

“I don’t believe you.” 

Between them sat all the times Steve, or a former friend of his, decided a random victim was queer. The knowing smirks and taunts that followed after they spewed out various slurs.

How some of the rumors they started stuck around. 

Steve had never really engaged with a lot of the bullying people often attributed to him as King of the Jockstraps, but he wasn't an innocent bystander either, and Gareth couldn't fault Eddie for challenging that change of heart. 

Even now, after Steve had long vacated his throne. 

“Well that sucks for you then, doesn’t it?” Steve snapped. “Because I’m not going anywhere, Munson. You can mack on some dude all you like, and I’m still going to be there to remind you you’re not evil for doing it. Or for being into nerdy shit and terrible music!”

“My music isn’t terrible!” Eddie screeched automatically.

Gareth anticipated Eddie calling out Steve on his obvious bait—seriously, that wouldn’t have worked in a game even with a nat 20—but found himself underestimating Steve's bantering skills as their ex-jock just plowed right ahead.

“It is! It’s just--screaming. Screaming with loud ass guitars!”

“Oh my God, I am going to sit you down and make you listen to so many albums. The screaming is a core part of the range of emotions in the songs--”

“Range? Eddie there isn’t any range, it’s just dudes who are angry--”

“Fuck you, it is not!” Eddie was howling, both of them too into their argument to remember they were trying to be quiet to begin with.

“I bet you five dollars! Five entire dollars, that you could not find me a singular song I like out of your entire metal collection.”

“Ten dollars! And the largest Pizza this shithole town has to offer!”

“Deal!” Steve shouted, chest heaving.

They breathed together for a moment, before the tension between them fizzled out, fading into something more uncertain.

Delicate, even though Gareth was fairly certain Steve had expertly maneuvered Eddie right where he wanted him.

Eddie seemed to realize it too, folding back into himself as he tugged a finger around his hair, pulling it in front of his face.

“You really wouldn't care if I kissed a guy in front of you?” Eddie's question isn't overtly vulnerable, but Gareth knows better.

He understands the significance of this.

Of Steve’s acceptance, more than anyone else's.

The jock had become so deeply bonded to them—all of them—that the rejection would wound Eddie in a way few could truly understand. Crack his otherwise impenetrable shield, the ricochet tearing through a substantial portion of his resilience.

“And I'd probably tell you to find a room, but hey, I said that to Tommy and Carol too,” Steve retorts, nudging Eddie's thigh.

Eddie rewards him with a small smile

Steve seems to know more is needed, and offers it up right alongside his heart. “I’m serious. I know I kinda butchered it but--the queer thing shouldn’t be a problem to begin with. It’s stupid that it is.”

"Steven Harrington, did I just witness personal growth?" Eddie teased, his smile widening. "What's next, admitting that college sports are ridiculous?"

“Don’t be a dick,” Steve scoffed, but his own smile mirrored Eddie’s as he looked away. 

Despite his head still partly tucked into his arm, Gareth found himself grinning.

It was a welcome relief after an otherwise horrific night.

Sensing it was now or never, Gareth made a show of untangling himself, stretching upward with a moan that startled both Eddie and Steve.

“Be careful saying that shit, Steve,” He said, jerking a thumb towards his best friend. “He’ll take it as an invitation to make out with people in front of you.”

Eddie gasped, hand flying over his heart in mock offense.

“I would never!”

“He’s a real horndog, once he even tried to make out with a guy on stage on top of my drumset.” Gareth continued, sticking out his tongue.

He deserved the pillow thrown his way but Gareth took the hit with grace, laughing as Eddie huffed at him.

“For the last time I wasn’t making out with that guy, he was trying to punch me!”

“With his mouth?”

“With his head, which you damn well know."  Eddie accused, clawing blindly for another pillow. "Gareth you are shameless, how long have you been listening in!?”

“As much as I enjoy the calming effects of mindless screaming, I'd wager it was when you guys conveniently forgot I was in the room."

“I take it you uh, know?” Steve injected hesitantly, eyes moving between Eddie and Gareth and oh--oh, he was being protective.

'That’s cute.' Gareth thinks.

Even if he’s rolling his eyes at the very idea that he posses any kind of threat.

“Dude, I clocked Eddie before he clocked me.” He said, just to take some heat from Eddie--and because it was one of the few opportunities where he could say it. “We’ve spent many a math period discussing if Sting was hotter than Axl Rose.”

If Eddie can be brave, Gareth could too.

“You did not.” Eddie spits back, the offense mounting. “You absolutely did not clock me first you lying liar--”

“Oh.” Steve blinked, finger flicking out between them as if he’s connected two dots and feels awfully stupid about not seeing it before. “I uh, I didn’t, are you guys--”

And oh, the horror that crashes into Gareth when he figured out what Steve was asking.

“No! God no.” Gareth shuddered, delighting in the way Eddie’s jaw crashed down at the sight. “And if I ever consider it, I need you to take me out back and shoot me, Steve. Right between the eyes, for the greater good.”

“Wow Gary, just stick a knife in my back why don’t you--”

“I’m gonna be real,” Steve cut in, before they could fake-argue their way into a real fight, “I never actually thought about liking both. Guys and girls, I mean.”

He blushed, as both Gareth and Eddie turned to look at him.

“Oh Stevie,” Eddie cooed, “there are so many more options than just "liking both.”

He made air quotes with his fingers, attention immediately diverted away from murdering Gareth with whatever objects he could grab. 

Steve gave him a side eye that was more than well deserved.

“I feel like I don’t want to know.” He said flatly.

“Too late.” Gareth told him, resigned. “You get to hear the speech now.”

“There’s a speech?”

“Steve, it's me. Of course there’s a speech.” Eddie tutted, resettling himself on the couch so that he’s sitting cross legged. “It’s an hour long so strap yourself in big guy, we have a lot of ground to cover!”

Crisis firmly averted, Gareth curls back up in the chair, tired smile on his face as Steve and Eddie go right back to bantering, the tension having vanished from the room.

This is a rare outcome, given their life and the world they live in, but one Gareth’s incredibly thankful for.

Can’t quite believe it, but then, King Steve had surprised a lot of them ever since he’d hung up his crown.

Perhaps Hellfire was a good influence on people after all.

xXx

Bonus

Back at the Byers, outside on the front porch, Hopper and Joyce were arguing over a cigarette.

(They both believe they’re being very quiet about it, but the pillow Jonathan had jammed over his ears said otherwise.)

“Remind me to make you work on your approach with disciplining children.” Joyce was saying, as she snatched the cigarette out of Hopper’s hands.

“What?! I thought that went pretty well considering they broke back into the lab and almost killed themselves.” He responded, waiting until she’d taken a deep inhale before trying to get it back.

“And I’m sure taking potshots at the poorest kid in the room was a necessary part of that process. It’s probably written down in the police handbook, even.”

“I wasn’t taking potshots Joyce--”

“No, of course not, you were just throwing random criticism and assumptions around, willy nilly and--oh, wait, that’s the exact definition of a potshot--”

“He deals drugs! Look me in the eyes and tell me Munson doling out weed doesn’t make more sense then the lot of them chasing down some--some goo story!?”

There’s a weighty pause, in which one can only imagine Joyce Byers face says more words than her mouth ever could.

It was very impactful.

“I mean--okay, maybe not our kids, but the teenagers?” Hopper’s voice dives into a disbelieving kind of whine, reserved for those who are aware the point they’re arguing may in fact, be wrong, but are desperately defending it anyway. “Come on. Drugs is the clear answer!" 

“Even if that was what was happening, then you shouldn’t be discussing it in a room full of children who have survived what those kids have, Jim. It could have been a separate conversation, given in a much calmer and less threatening tone of voice.”

“Oh my God, Joyce--”

“Don’t you ‘oh my God!’ me, you asked for lessons on being a better parent and I am holding you to them!”

There’s a brief scuffle over the cigarette, as both seem to realize Joyce is letting it smoke out in her hand.

She does not stop talking however, even as their hands slap at each other. 

“That includes parenting the teenagers in this town, because in case you haven’t noticed, you’re the Chief of police! So you signed up to see them all at their worst, and you get to deal with the fallout of that!”

“Fine! Fine. I’ll apologize to the goddamn high school drug dealer. Is that what you want!?”

“Yes!”

Another pause, this one filled with that awkward sort of tension when an argument has fizzled out, and neither party knows quite where they stand with each other yet.

“What voice am I supposed to use?” Hopper mused, finally winning the bid for the cigarette and jamming it into his mouth.

“Anyone except the grumbly bear voice.”

“The grumbly bear voice?”

“You know,” Joyce drops her own voice in a comical rendition of Hopper’s, “How dare you kids run off! You’ll be the death of me and this town!”

She laughs, and Hopper, shockingly, laughs along with her.

“I don’t sound like that.” He defends, bumping Joyce gently with his shoulder, and she in return, bumps him right back.

Both of them grinning, both of them blushing a little.

They keep talking, the cigarette eventually put aside and forgotten as they do.

Truth be told, they hadn’t needed it--but the excuse was nice.

(Inside, Jonathan rolled the pillow on top of his face in a suffocation attempt, unsure of what he’d done in life to deserve all this but desperately wishing he didn’t have to listen to his mother flirt.

Or worse--Hop flirting back.)

[hellishchrissy]

should I stay, or should I go now? if I go, there will be trouble and if I stay, it will be double

[berd-alert]

Pack Tactics

AN: Yes the title is the name of a DnD ability leave me alone. I tend to not write the drabbles, that's @thinkblotted ‘s job, but this idea wouldn’t leave me alone. So have some Michael, Marko, and a silly conversation about dogs, trust and family.

Thorn is drooling on Michael’s leg. 

It's not an unusual sensation. He’s had dogs as long as he could remember, and before Nanook (before the vampirism and the nearly eating his brother, that is.) he had generally gotten along with them. But ever since that night, the malamute hadn’t even let him touch her. She had growled and hidden and generally not tolerated Michael’s presence right up until the moment he left. 

He had assumed it was just a vampire thing. 

Apparently he was wrong. 

Michael looks out at the woods beyond the cabin porch. The trees crowd in on all sides, thick and dark. Perfect for hunting, and staying hidden. It was just heading into true night, the sky still purple from the setting sun.

A soft *swoosh* on Michael's left alerted him to the arrival of one of his pack. From the pulse of amusement he felt in the bond, he suspected Paul or Marko.

“Who's your friend?”

Marko bobs into Michael's field of view, his smile sharp edged and bright as always. Thorn lifts his head, and his tail starts to thump wildly on the ground. He wuffs softly at the other vampire, clearly happy to see him. 

Marko reaches over, scratching behind one of the dogs ears. “Yeah Thorn I know it's you, I'm just teasing.” 

“It never gets less weird when you talk to him like a person.” Michael says. His hand Joins Marko's on the other side of Thorn’s head, and the dog's eyes close in good scratch bliss. Marko snorts.

“He basically is a person, he's smarter than most dogs. Eating the heartblood of about six different vampires will do that.” 

Michael pauses at that. 

“Is that why he doesn't hate us?”

Marko looks at him. His face is shadowed, but his blue eyes are bright. Curious.

“Well. Kind of. Why do you ask?”

Michael clears his throat.

“Well, when I... First turned-”

He falters, clearing his throat, but Marko urges him on.

“Yeah? What happened?”

“Well. I was hungry. I tried to attack Sam,” Michael cringes at the thought. His brother hadn't deserved the shit that he'd put him through. He takes a breath, continues. “When I tried that, his dog, Nanook, attacked me. Knocked me down the stairs, bit the shit out of my hand, all that. And like, I get that, I tried to kill her owner, but she never trusted me again.”

Marko nods, but he still looks curious.

“So? That makes sense to me. Don't really see the connection here, bud.”

Michael sighs, and Thorn wuffs at him. He looks down at the dog's big brown eyes, his pink nose and lolling tongue. Perfectly relaxed. 

“I guess,” Michael says, stroking Thorn's fur slowly. “I kind of thought all dogs didn't like us.”

It's quiet for a moment. The implication of his words hang heavy in the air, stones pressed onto his tongue.

Then Marko starts laughing.

Michael stares at him, stung. And then he growls and shoves the smaller man with his shoulder.

“Hey, hey! Shut up man, I'm serious!”

“I know you are,” Marko wheezes, holding his stomach with the hand not on Thorn's head. “That's what's making me laugh! You really don't get animals, do you?”

“I'm not- okay then, smart guy, what exactly am I missing here?” Michael growls, frustrated. Marko gets ahold of himself and takes a breath.

“You attacked her pack, man. Of course she wouldn't trust you again after that.”

Michael stares at him, and apparently it's clear he doesn't get it because Marko keeps going.

“Okay so dogs are descended from wolves right? They're social and their family units are super important to them. You attacked Nanook’s family, I never got the chance to talk to her but I would guess she thinks of Sam as her pup.”

He leans into Michael's space a little, making motions with his hands to Illustrate his point.

“Imagine you're a parent, and suddenly one of your kids attacks the other, Not, like, playing like they should, but with a real intent to hurt. Wouldn't you have trouble trusting them again?”

Michael looks from Marko’s flapping hands, to his face, then back to Thorn, who is watching them with his tail wagging like he doesn’t have a care in the world. 

“No,” he says, a little hesitantly. “I don’t think I would.”

Marko grins. “See? Trust, man. She didn’t trust you and Thorn does.”

The dog wuffs and Marko laughs again, scratching him behind the ears. “Yeah, he can be a big dummy sometimes, can’t he?”

“There’s no way in hell that's what he actually said,” Michael laughs, and Marko shoves him playfully. 

“I’m sorry, can you speak to animals? That’s right, I didn’t think so.”

Michael snorts at him, and then looks back at Thorn, who’s watching him with his dark, intelligent eyes. He reaches out his hand. An offer.

The dog headbutts him gently, and Michael feels something warm unspool in his chest. Trust, huh?

It doesn’t seem so bad.

[storywriter12]

I had a dream about john and harold last night that they were kissing in the rain, and now I can't get that out of my head. I want to write a chapter about it

[harrywavycurly]

Secret Rendezvous Part 13: A Feeling

Masterlist: Here

CW: Language

Tag List: @emma-munson @aol19 @tlclick73 @prestinalove @kailey-firefly @fromasgardandback @therealgothamguardianfr @peaches-roses-sins @hiscrimsonangel @furiousladyking @angelina16torres-blog @sofaritsalrightt @josephquinnsfreckles @starrywhitenight @mrsjellymunson @witchwolflea @jasminelafleur @ohmeg @comeonatmebruh @missmarch-99 @arthurcerverogf @disassociationdive

A/N: If your name is Gina I apologize in advance just know I still love you also this happens the same night at part 12, enjoy✨